My Everything
by xxFeline.Of.Avenue.Bxx
Summary: Because she was his everything, no matter how wrong their relationship was and how much he knew he was supposed to leave her. And honestly, he couldn't leave her now, even if he wanted to. Remus Lupin/OC, slight Hermione/Ron and Ginny/Harry.
1. Chapter 1: Professor Remus Lupin

Hello reader and welcome to my fanfic. Before you read, there are a few things you might want to know about this fanfic.

This is slightly AU, but only because the Golden Trio, along with everyone else in Harry's year his in the sixth year, but this holds no events from the sixth year, and holds the events from the third year.

So basically, they're sixteen during the events of Prisoner of Azkaban

Also, yes this is an OC fic and some of you will feel the need to bash Callista Finch because you think she's a Mary Sue

Well that's nice, but please, keep your bashing attitude away.

Some of you might hate my plot

Then please just leave because honestly, if you hate it there's no reason to flame me. Why not spend your time with something you enjoy? That's what most people would rather do.

Also, this fanfic has a website! .com/

Please feel free to visit it. Also if anyone cares to edit this fic before I post my chapters, that'd be super special awesome, so message me? Kay?

For this chapter, I owe partial credit to vrose93, who not only edited this, but wrote part of it because my brain was in too much of a rut.

So, I hope you enjoy yourself reading this as much as I enjoy writing it

-Love

The Feline

Disclaimer: I do NOT own Harry Potter, sorry guys!

CHAPTER ONE: Professor Remus Lupin

"We'll see you next summer," Robert Finch said with a sad smile giving his daughter, Callista Finch a quick tight hug as the stood on the train platform.

"Don't forget to write Calli," Anita Finch, his wife insisted, wiping a tear from her eyes as she gave her only daughter yet another hug.

"I know mum," Callista rolled her eyes at how emotional her mother was being, it seemed to her that after five previous years of the same exact goodbye she would get used to it. But apparently she didn't. Callista fought off a smile and released her mum from a hug. She turned to her dad, to give him another hug when she saw him turned away, ice blue eyes that matched her own staring out to the left. She turned as well, looking as well to see what her father was looking at.

"Is that Lucius Malfoy?" Robert asked, squinting at a figure in black walking down the platform, a shorter version of himself right beside him.

"And Draco," Callista answered, wrinkling her nose and looking around to see if it was possible to get on the train before he spotted her. After deciding that was impossible she simply braced herself for the inevitable insults and sexual innuendos that would come from Draco Malfoy as soon as he saw her. "Mum, why don't you go make sure all my luggage got on the train?" She said remembering the Malfoys's tendency to insult any and all muggles.

Just as her mother had walked away Lucius and Draco Malfoy made their way to the Finches.

"Robert Finch, how have you been doing?" Lucius asked in his trademark tone that made everything he said sound like an insult.

"Lucius, I've been fine thank you." Robert answered, careful to keep his voice formal and not allow his dislike for the Malfoys to show.

"It's _great_ to _see_ you Callista," Draco said, running his eyes up and down her figure in a way that made Callista instinctively cross her arms across her chest. "How was your summer?"

"Fine," She answered as politely as she could, noticing that Lucius had taken to conversing with her father, leaving her with Draco.

"You look good, Finch. You've uh…grown…" He smirked, staring at her long legs and bringing them back up to her chest and she crossed her arms tighter. Despite the fact that she was tall, she didn't top Draco's six feet and that made her even more uncomfortable, knowing that he could easily dominate her.

"Yeah…" She muttered, keeping her eyes hard and not looking away to let him win.

"Draco you should get on the train now, you don't want to be late," Lucius' voice remained the same tone it always was, showing no affection for his son.

"I'll see you later," Draco turned toward Callista, a trademark smirk on his face, eyebrows raised suggestively, before he stepped on the train and out of sight.

"Goodbye Robert," Lucius said before turning and walking away through the crowd, not bothering to look out for the people in his way.

"Well I should get going so I find a seat on the train," Callista turned to her father, giving him one more quick hug, she waved and smiled at her mom who was standing off to the side, her handkerchief in her hand as she continued crying. "Bye."

As soon as Callista was on the train and away from her parents she took a moment to relax and be happy about the fact that she was finally a 6th year, only two more years left at Hogwarts. As much as she loved her family, she also loved Hogwarts, loved her friends and was excited to be spending even the Holidays at school, since her parents would be out, visiting her aunt's cottage in Paris.

"Callista!" A familiar voice called from behind her, just as the train was leaving the station.

"Hermione!" Callista recognized her best friend coming toward her and gave her a quick hug. "It's so great to see you! Hi Harry, Hi Ron," She added, noticing the two boys coming up behind Hermione. Harry said hello while Ron was too busy waving to his parents on the train platform as it faded away.

"We should go find somewhere to seat," Harry pointed out, noticing that most of the students had already found a spot in a compartment and most of them would already be full. They continued on searching until finally they reached the back of the train.

"Everywhere else is full," Hermione pointed out when they reached a compartment that had only a huddled mass in the corner, that upon a closer look seemed to be a new professor sleeping.

"Is he really asleep?" Harry asked once he, Ron, Hermione and Callista had entered the compartment.

"Looks like." Ron muttered, taking the seat directly across from Professor Lupin—as his suitcase said he was—, followed by Harry and then Hermione, none of which wanted to sit next to the Professor. Rolling her eyes, Callista plopped down on the only open seat, next to Lupin.

"Alright, well I need to talk to you three in private." Harry muttered, sliding the compartment door shut. Callista meant to listen, truly she did, and she even listened to _most_ of it. But this story seemed to be nothing, considering their past six years at Hogwarts.

Even now, on the train ride to the school, listening as Harry told them of Sirius Black's plot to capture and kill him, she couldn't register the proper amount of horror. Perhaps it was six years of every other Voldemort supporter that came across Harry, trying to kill him, perhaps it was the excitement of almost being done with school, but Callista simply wasn't as horrified as Ron or Hermione were. Zoning back into reality, she crossed her legs, skirt riding up a little but she smoothed it down, brushing her hair behind her ear. Shifting slightly in her seat, Callista's arm brushed up against Professor Lupin. She stared at the professor out of the corner of her eyes, noticing how thin he was. He was tall too, she could tell by the uncomfortable way he was folded up in his seat. His hair was a shade of light brunette and was incredibly messy. His skin was pale and if she didn't know any better, she'd say he was deathly ill. But he was a professor; Dumbledore wouldn't hire him if he wasn't in good health. Callista shifted once more and in that instant, she felt the train pulling to a stop.

"We can't be there yet…" Hermione muttered, looking around, as the door to her compartment was shoved open. It was Ginny Weasley whose blue eyes were wide and terrified.

"Ron!" She exclaimed. "Why've we stopped? Why has the train stopped?" She panicked, and almost as if on cue, the lights blacked out and Ginny let out a terrified squeaked, falling backwards, half on the seat next to Callista, half off of it. Scooting closer to Lupin, she allowed Ginny to take a seat next to her, despite being crammed in next to Lupin. Their compartment fell silent for a moment before Ginny spoke up again. "What's happening?" She asked.

"Hush a minute…" Callista whispered, but her whispers weren't heard as Hermione winced and her cat let out a hiss.

"Ouch Ron! That's my foot!" She snapped and he whimpered a "sorry."

"Who's arm is that?" Harry muttered and Ron apologized once more, before the five of them heard a sharp hushing noise. They each turned, staring directly at Professor Lupin, who'd been asleep up until now. Callista felt her face color. He was gorgeous. His eyes were dark brown and so deep she swore she could've drowned in them. His shoulders were broad and despite the fact that he was thin, he still appeared to have some muscle definition and would've looked easily to be the most attractive guy she'd seen if his robes weren't utterly destroyed and he didn't have deep, dark shadows under his eyes.

Attractive…Callista pinched her eyes shut and quickly banished that thought, ignoring the fact that her body was tightly packed in next to his. Sodding Ginny Weasly…

"Professor, do you think we've broken down?" She heard Hermione ask, but Lupin just hushed them once more. Callista tensed in her seat, curious as to why they were being hushed, however she soon discovered why when an alarming cold swept over her and every ounce of her body went rigid. This was wrong…this was bad…The door to the compartment peeled itself open and a black, hooded figure with long, decaying hands glided into the compartment. A dementor…This was bad…a depression clouded over her and suddenly she couldn't think of anything but third year. Her breath caught in her throat and her arms flew around her waist, as though she was trying to hold herself together. Still, right as she was about to give up, to just collapse and cry, she watched Lupin stand up and noticed the silver plasma spewing out of his wand. The dementor recoiled and slid away, but not before Harry hit the ground.

"My God!" Ginny gasped and Hermione clung tightly to Ron, brown eyes wide and terrified. The lights came back on right then and the train started moving again, as though nothing strange had happened.

"Settled down Miss Weasley…" Lupin replied calmly, moving down to Harry, slapping his cheek lightly. "There's nothing to worry about." Although Callista easily knew it was a lie, and that he was just trying to comfort the girl. "Harry? Harry are you alright?" He asked, slapping Harry once more, causing him to slowly move back into a conscious state.

"What…?" He groaned, green eyes fluttering open.

"Are you alright?" Ron asked, both he and Hermione hoisting Harry onto his seat.

"Um…yeah…" Harry muttered, shaking his head. "What was that thing? And who was screaming?" He asked, looking at the group and Ginny paled noticeably.

"Harry…no one was screaming…" Callista muttered wrinkling her brow in a worried fashion.

"And that was a dementor, one of the guards of Azkaban…" Lupin replied, reaching into the pocket of his tattered cloak, pulling out an unopened chocolate bar for Harry. "Now here Harry, you should eat this." Harry stared at the bar of chocolate for a minute and Lupin pushed it forward. "Really, Madam Pomfry will have my head if you don't. Eat up." He insisted and Harry reluctantly took the chocolate bar, while Lupin handed Ron, Hermione, Ginny and Callista each a bar of chocolate as well.

"How do you know my name?" He spoke up, face unsure.

"You didn't think Dumbledore would leave me uninformed about you Harry, did you? But if you'd all excuse me, I'd better be off to have a word with the conductor." Lupin replied, excusing himself and Callista's sky blue eyes followed him. Well…this was sure to be an interesting year, she though, pushing thoughts of him down.

***

The feast had begun at last. Dumbledore had made his announcements about the dementors, Profesor Lupin and his other topics. The sorting ceremony took place and several new Gryffindors made their way to the table and the food had appeared. Delicious, usually Callista couldn't keep her mind off of it. But not tonight. Tonight, her mind was filled with the train ride. Of being pressed up against this gorgeous teacher, this…dammit. She looked back down at her food, the meats the fruits and everything else on her plate and suddenly it was utterly unappetizing. This was not good. She tried desperately to remember her summer vacation, spending time at the beach, writing to her friends…but it was no use. Picking at a piece of chicken with her fork, she ran her free hand through her hair and allowed herself a moment to glance up at Professor Lupin, trying to look merely curious instead of actually interested. Much to her surprise, his eyes were on her too and her face washed crimson before she turned away, staring back down at her food with absolutely no appetite at all. This wasn't smart, she reminded herself. It wasn't a good idea when she went out with a seventh year while she was a third year and it wasn't smart now to even be looking at her teacher the way she was.

"Callista?" She looked up when she heard Hermione's voice and saw that she was looking at her in a very concerned nature. "Are you feeling ill?" She asked and Callista nodded weakly, figuring that lying was a better option than saying "no" and having Hermione start questioning her lack of eating.

"A little homesick I suppose, just because last summer was wonderful." She said quickly. "I'm sure it'll pass in a few days." She replied simply, turning back to her food, hoping that she could manage to just scarf some down but she knew she couldn't. She had a fairly low tolerance for over eating. So, for the rest of the feast, she tapped her toes on the floor and went over _Hogwarts, A History_ in her head, hoping that

she could ignore the rest of the world…

***

Callista didn't sleep well all that night. It was hard enough sleeping with Hermione's constant sleep-talking and the fact that Luna Lovegood got up and sleepwalked each and every night, the floors creaking loudly as she did, but with the present situation at hand, she barely slept a wink. She'd spent the night talking herself out of any girly fantasies she could conjure up, fighting with herself over and over again. **'You're a sexual being you're allowed to be attracted to him' **_'But where did attraction ever get you before? Broken hearted? Crying every single day? Suicidal?' _**'No one gets out of the teen years unscratched sweetie, besides its not like you need to fall madly in love with him and try to have some kind of affair with him. Admiring from afar is perfectly natural.' **_'But he's a teacher!' _**'Well so was Lockheart, but the bulk of the schools female population was in love with him.' **_' I'm not going to marry the man, so what's the point in looking anyway?'_

That same argument, over and over again, all night until finally, at about four in the morning, she passed out from sheer exhaustion. And of course, being that breakfast ended at 8:30, she'd managed to sleep in until 8:45, with fifteen minutes until her first class of the day started and being that it was her first year in Divinations, she had no idea where the room was. Rushing to just pull her curls—which had gone frizzy when she'd slept on them and didn't have the time to shower first thing in the morning—back into a dark crimson ribbon, tug on her uniform, apply some concealer to the huge dark circles under her eyes and apply the rest of her make up before brushing her teeth and jetting out of the common room, books and bag in her arms, stomach empty and grumbling. She tripped several times, bumped straight into Draco Malfoy, knocking him down—which wasn't necessarily a _bad_ thing— and got completely lost, having to ask one of the paintings the way to Professor Trelawney's classroom. When she finally got there, she was a good ten minutes late and sincerely hoped that Professor Trelawney wasn't a thing like Snape and take ten points from Gryffindor, just because she was late.

Callista climbed through the trapdoor, expecting the worst, but much to her surprise, the fragile lady who she assumed to be Professor Trelawney was smiling at her.

"Ahhh, yes, Miss. Finch, I saw that you'd be late, but don't worry, Miss. Granger's still available to partner with." She smiled and Callista nodded, taking her seat next to Hermione who was scowling down at a cup of tea leaves.

"This class is ridiculous." Hermione whispered and Callista felt a smile tugging at the edge of her lips as Trelawney got to the instructions on what they were supposed to do. She hushed her friend's angry grumbling as Professor Trelawney approached her, handing her over her own cup of tea leaves. She set it down and then her already wide eyes widened even more.

"Goodness dear it seems as though you're going through quite a dilemma!" She said, clutching on the table as Callista's face flushed dark red.

"Um…no I think…you've got the wrong person, no dilemma's here." She lied but Trelawney shook her head.

"It appears that you'll be under extreme emotional turmoil, unless you can learn to think with your emotions, rather than logic. And also…something will change you completely sometime around Halloween..." Trelawney said, walking away as though this was completely normal.

"What was that all about?" Hermione asked, brow quirked. Callista bit her lip and shook her head, laughing nervously.

"You're right, this class is ridiculous." She replied.

Dammit…


	2. Chapter 2: The Boggart

Hey everyone! Here's chapter two woot!

Okay, now first off I'd like to thank brilliantblonde9 for the lovely and fast review.

She informed me that, the link was messsed up, here it is

my everything feline of avenue b .wet paint .com

Just remove the spaces

Thanks to Vrose 93, for being so super special awesome

Thank you alisonlynn, for fangirling over Remus with me

And thank you xxjust. for being happy bout my new obsession :D

Disclaimer: I still dont own anything, sorry loves :P

Chapter Two: The Boggart

For the first time in six years, Callista actually found herself looking forward to the Defense Against The Dark Arts class. She reminded herself over and over again that there was no reason to get giddy over a class she never liked to begin with, no matter how attractive her Professor was. She knew that any and all school girl crushes were ridiculous and she was ready to fight such silly emotions tooth and nail if it got any more intense, especially since she knew she didn't stand a chance with him. But she couldn't help it. She was sixteen, she reminded herself. She was supposed to feel this way about guys. Supposed to do her hair and make up and forget about everything else but looking good and being sweet. Trelawney said that this would all be resolved by Halloween anyways, she could stand to be silly and girly until then. It was only a month and a half. And honestly, it almost felt good.

Because of her lack of sleep the night before and the fact that thanks to Trelawney, she was no longer arguing with herself, Callista had managed to get a fair amount of sleep. In fact she was so well rested that she'd managed to get up forty-five minutes early, allowing herself some time to primp. It took only about a half-hour to get ready and because of her timeliness, she was allowed a moment to look herself over in the mirror.

Of course, the first thing she noticed was her narrow, icy blue eyes that were only emphasized by the bright turquoise eyeliner that was worn on her eyelids and around the corners of her eyes, giving them an almost cat-like shape. Her very fair lashes were given a light coat of mascara and a faint amount of blush was dusted onto her cheeks. Her face was shaped in an odd sort of oval-heart shaped mix and was surrounded by her bouncy, strawberry-blonde ringlets that just touch her breasts and side swept bangs. She was tall, around 5'7" and had a skin tone that was neither tan nor pale but caught somewhere in between. In fact, she noticed that a lot of things about her were caught somewhere in between. Like her figure, for instance. She wasn't what one could call skinny or delicate but she was certainly not overweight, or heavily muscled, or even curvy for that matter. She had an average build, average tone and even an average figure, minus the fact that her legs were longer than most girls were. In fact, it was because her legs were so long that caused her to wear thigh-high stockings, rather than knee highs. The length in her legs caused a bit less length in the skirt and therefore, she felt the need to cover her legs with stockings. Her height also played a factor in her choice of shoes, which were shiny, black ballet flats. Along with her skirt, thigh-highs and ballet flats she wore a standard, white, button up blouse with the sleeves on it constantly rolled up, and her Gryffindor tie.

Smoothing her skirt down as she turned around, gathering up her books and bag, she noticed Hermione walk over to her, prepared for class as well.

"You look unusually chipper this morning." Hermione commented as they headed into the common room, meeting up with Ron and Harry.

"I'm not tired this morning." Callista shrugged, trying to dismiss the comment. She was not going to explain the real reason behind her mood.

"Lucky you." Ron grumbled, yawning. "I was up all night, making sure Hermione's bloody cat didn't sneak in and try to eat Scabbers!"

"Crookshanks is a cat, Ron. It's in his nature to chase rats. And he's not going to hunt down Scabbers." The brunette replied, wrinkling up her nose, fixing her dark eyes into a glare.

"Besides, I thought that you thought Scabbers was useless. You always say all he ever does is eat and sleep." Harry reminded Ron, however he just heaved a sigh and the four of them continued down to the Great Hall for breakfast.

Breakfast passed as slow as ever in a dragging, colorless lull that she'd chosen to zone out for. She vaguely noticed that Ron and Hermione were bickering about something or other, but that was about it. She honestly couldn't stop her thoughts from wandering to their first class of the day: Defense Against the Dark Arts. She brushed her curls back behind her ear, feeling her lips pull into an involuntary smile as the four walked to class.

"Hermione's right." Callista heard Ron say, pulling her out of her stupor.

"Excuse me?" She asked, raising her eyebrows in curiosity.

"You're bloody chipper today." He rolled his eyes and Callista fought off the blush that was threatening to color her cheeks.

"Are you sure you're telling us everything Calli?" Hermione asked.

"It's nothing guys, really!" She insisted, rolling her eyes and trying to pass it off as unessential suspicion. "I'm _allowed_ to _smile _aren't I?"

"Of course, but _why_ are you smiling?" Harry asked and she groaned, taking a long stride forward, walking ahead of the group all the way to the classroom.

When she walked into the room they were supposed to be in, she noticed that it didn't look a thing like any other classroom she remembered. The desks and chairs were cleared out, there was an old wardrobe of sorts near the back of the classroom and Professor Lupin stood next to it, leaning against the back wall, a smile on his face. Callista felt herself go red when she realized that she was the first person in the classroom. Blushing over a guy…Callista Finch _did not_ blush over guys. However, she allowed herself a minute to ponder the thought. Normal girls blushed; she'd seen it a million times. She'd blushed all through her first, second and third years. So why not blush?

With a resolved smile, she waited while Hermione, Harry and Ron filed into the classroom, examining it as well.

"Bloody Hell…" The redhead muttered, staring around. "What happened to the desks?" He asked eyes wide.

"Honestly Ron!" Hermione rolled her eyes and stood with her arms crossed to her chest. "It's probably just for the lesson today." She snapped and Ron turned to Harry, brow furrowed.

"What's _her_ problem?" He asked and Harry shrugged. Thankfully, the rest of the students started filing into the room however Callista heard Draco Malfoy sneer. She tried to maneuver around Harry and Ron so that they served as a defensive barrier between she and him, but that didn't work out well. He'd seen her too quickly and of course, he came waltzing over to her, big smirk plastered onto his face with Crabbe and Goyle following closely behind him.

"Callista Finch…" He smirked, eyeing her up again and she took a step back, running into Ron and Harry who stood on either side of her, glaring at Malfoy. "You owe me an apology."

"I what?" She asked, standing up straight, emphasizing that she wasn't tiny, she wasn't weak and she wasn't going to let him mess her up.

"_You_ nearly rand me over on your way to class yesterday." He pointed out and she wanted to smack herself in the head. _Of course_ Malfoy would bring that up…of course… She was ready to choke out some random apology when he moved in, uncomfortably close, lips at her ear. Apparently he didn't mind Ron and Harry being right next to them. She tensed and backed up right away. "Of course…you could repay me in some other way, Calli…" He breathed and Ron jumped forward, ready to tear the blonde Slytherin limb from limb, only behing held back by Harry and Hermione. Callista's nose wrinkled up and she turned away, not wanting to give him the time of day. This was the worst thing he'd said around Ron or Harry or Hermione, but not the worst thing _she'd _heard him say. She swept her hair behind her ear, willing this situation to end, and thankfully it did when Professor Lupin who cut through the other students stepped in.

"Is there a problem Ron, Draco?" He asked and the red head tensed, stopping his flailing, Draco however looked utterly pissed, as though he was hoping for a fight.

"Not at all, Professor." Hermione spoke up, giving Ron a warning look and he let his arms fall to his sides. Lupin nodded, seeming satisfied with that answer, before heading back over to the old wardrobe, the students standing in rows, with Callista in between Harry and Hermione on the Gryffindor side of the room, being as the two houses had clearly divided themselves.

"Now then," Lupin said, turning to the old wardrobe which had been rattling like mad, causing a few students to step back. "Don't worry, it's just a boggart." He informed, however several people started to look as though they should be worrying. Many of them stepped back and Callista's face paled. She had no desire to face her fears at all, especially the thing that she feared the most. Her stomach quaked and her hand clenched into a fist. "Boggarts like dark, enclosed spaces, like wardrobes, the gap beneath beds, the cupboards under sink. I've even met one who lodged itself in a grandfather clock. This one moved in yesterday afternoon, and I asked the headmaster if the staff would leave it to give my sixth years some practice." Lupin continued. "So the first question we must ask ourselves is, what is a boggart?" Hermione raised her hand.

"A boggart is a shape shifter. It can take the shape of whatever it thinks will frighten us most." She said.

"Couldn't have put it better myself." Lupin said and Hermione glowed, while Callista mentally slapped herself. Why didn't she say something? "So the boggart sitting in the darkness within has not assumed a form. He does not yet know what will frighten the person on the other side of the door. Nobody knows what a boggart looks like when he is alone, but when I let him out, he will immediately become whatever each of us most fears. This means, that we will have a huge advantage over the boggart before we begin. Have you spotted it Callista?" The blonde's eyes went wide and her head popped up.

"I think so…" She started, sweeping her curls out of her face. "Is it because there are so many of us, it wont know what shape to take?" She asked, brow quirked nervously

"That's exactly right." Said Professor Lupin and Callista instantly felt her skin take to the temperature of the sun, face showing more than the rest of her. A few years ago, she'd have been being nervous about being caught blushing but now, it felt nice, welcome even to have her blood warming her cheeks and have her emotions going haywire. Perhaps this was why other girls were able to bounce back from bad break ups so easily. "Now the charm that repels a boggart is simple, yet it requires force of mind. You see the thing that _really_ finishes a boggart is laughter. What you need to do, is force it to assume a shape that you find amusing. Let's practice without wands first. After me please…riddikulus."

"Riddikulus." The class repeated.

"This class is ridiculous…" She heard Draco mutter under his breath, in an attempt to be clever, but all Callista could manage to do was roll her eyes. She was curious as to how Professor Lupin would react to Draco's disrespect, but his lack of reaction said that either he didn't hear or was just choosing to ignore him.

"Good, very good. And now, for this part I'll need a volunteer, perhaps…Neville? How about you?" He asked and reluctantly, the short boy approached the wardrobe, biting his lips. "Now Neville, first things first. What would you say frightens you more than anything in the world?" He asked and for a moment silence fell like a blanket over the room.

"P-p-Professor Snape…" He stuttered. Nearly everyone laughed and even Neville himself was chuckling, however Professor Lupin looked thoughtful.

"Professor Snape…hmmm….Neville you live with your grandmother, don't you?" He asked and Neville's face went ashen.

"Yes, but I don't want it to turn into her either!" He insisted and this time Lupin chortled.

"No, no. You misunderstand me." He smiled. "Now, I want you to think of the sorts of clothing that your grandmother usually wears. You don't need to tell us, all you have to do is think about it, and we'll see it. No just keep imagining them, and when the boggart comes out of the wardrobe as Professor Snape and you cry riddikulus, he should end up wearing them." Lupin said. "Now if Neville is successful, the boggart will likely turn to one of us, allowing everyone to take a turn. So I'd like you all to think of the thing that scares you most, and imagine how you might force it to look comical…" The room went quiet and that pit returned to Callista's stomach. No…not here not now.

She knew right away what she was most terrified of and she knew what symbolized it better than anything else she knew of but she couldn't…people would want to know why, they'd start making assumptions. She pinched her icy blue eyes shut and her brow wrinkled but she knew there wasn't any way she could get out of it…

So she got in the line, right before Harry, fingering for her wand in the pocket of her cloak. "Everyone ready?" Lupin asked and a surge of fear pulsed through Callista. No, of course she wasn't ready… "On the count of three, Neville. One, two, three…Now!" The wardrobe burst open and Professor Snape stepped out, eyes flashing at Neville. The boy backed away, mouthing wordlessly.

"R—r—riddikulus!" He squeaked and Snape stumbled back, wearing a long, lace trimmed dress, a toweing hat topped with a mouth-eaten vulture and a huge crimson handbag. Laughter erupted in the classroom and the boggart paused, confused and Professor Lupin called Parvati Patil forward. The next couple of people's boggarts all came at Callista in a sort of daze, nervousness washing over her. No Merlin please, no… She was biting on her lips now and with each person that moved the pit in her stomach grew and finally she had to wrap her arms around her torso, to hold herself together.

Finally, Callista was the one in front of the boggart, her face was washed out and her hand was shaking as she pulled her wand out. She thought she was over this whole incident, thought she was stronger now, but now, with the way she was reacting, she knew she wasn't. She looked right at the boggart and watched as it changed transforming slowly, as though it was torturing her. And then there it was.

A moon, a full moon on a clear, dark night, the sky around it was completely black. Her breath caught in her throat and as much as she wanted to get rid of it, she couldn't find the words. It was happening again, she felt sick, felt as though she was going to collapse on the floor again, the way she had that night. Everything flooded back in her mind and she forced herself to close her eyes and shout out.

"Riddikulus!" She cried and heard as it popped, like a balloon, the tension still built up in her chest. She quickly opened her eyes and moved out of the line, watching as Hermione's brow furrowed. Her face was still ashen and she wanted nothing more than to go have her friend, the only friend who'd heard about the incident, talk her into calming down but she couldn't, not now.

Strangely enough, it wasn't just Hermione's eyes on her, she turned around when she felt a pair of eyes baring into the back of her head and realized that Professor Lupin was staring at her too, face filled with concern, sympathy and curiosity.

Class continued in a dizzy, surreal blur of her body shaking slightly and her lungs never filling properly with air. But when it did end, she was ready to bolt for the door; however she heard a hoarse voice speak up.

"Callista, could I see you for a moment?" Professor Lupin asked and she paled, nodding as she dismissed Hermione and walked over to him, nervous as ever.


	3. Chapter 3: Cat Out Of The Bag

Hey ya'll! Another quick update's out :D

Yes, in this chapter there ARE pretty lyrics at the begining :D, I'll be doing that from now on

First off, I'd love to thank ALL of my reviewers, I REALLY appreciate it, reviews are made of win

Also, I'd like to thank vrose93 (Padfoot), for being so damn impacient and peer pressuring me into writing this chapter

My freshman English teacher, for eating my soul on facebook when I was whining about intro chapters

Alisonlynn (Moony) for her excelent support and for help with Harry Potter and Callista's Boggart and junk and stuff. Also, she's the one who got me into this kind of stuff guys! Honestly, she blames me for getting her into Remus/Snape, well I wouldnt be into this if she didnt start with the Snupin. Luv ya babe

My amazing boyfriend (who doesnt read fanfiction but is refered to by Moony, Padfoot and I as Lily :P) who got me into the Harry Potter series

And JK Rowling, because she owns this stuff, not me

Also, there are some things in here that are similar to New Moon (from the...well...not my favorite book series, Twilight) and Legally Blonde (both the muscial and movei) if you can catch both of them, you'll DEFINITELY get something for it

Hope ya enjoy!

CHAPTER THREE: Cat Out Of The Bag

_I'll keep you my dirty little secret, don't tell anyone or you'll be just another regret_

_-Dirty Little Secret by: The All American Rejects_

"Yes, Professor Lupin?" Callista choked out, biting her lips as she finally stood directly in front of him.

"Callista…honestly, I can say I'm surprised." He said and she stared down at her feet, utterly ashamed. "Callista, there's nothing to be ashamed of, I've got the same problem." Her head popped up and she quirked her eyebrows.

"Y…you do?" She asked and he nodded, chuckling.

"Not a very common curse, is it? But ironically enough it looks like we're on the same boat." Lupin smiled apologetically at the girl. "How've you been dealing with it in your past?" He asked and her face flushed dark crimson.

"Um…I've been trying to ignore it, you know. I figure the less I think about it, the easier it is for me." She said nervously and he nodded.

"Interesting philosophy. It's a little hard to ignore, isn't it?" He asked and she nodded, linking her hands together in front of her. "But, if you're interested, I've got something that could help you, make the transformation easier…" He said and she looked up at him, questioning look on her face. "Each month… It's a fairly new potion; Dumbledore's going to have Professor Snape brew one for me, I could mention it to him that you'll be needing one as well…" He started and when he still saw the questioning look on her face he smiled, in what he hoped looked to be reassuring. "It's perfectly safe." He informed, but her expression didn't change.

"What are you talking about?" She asked and he froze for a moment.

"Callista, I don't understand, your greatest fear was the full moon, wasn't it?" He asked and she nodded. "You're a werewolf, _aren't _you?" He asked and she froze this time, face going ashen.

"_You're_ a werewolf?" She gasped and he also went white as a sheet, turning away from her.

"You should leave now Callista, I believe we're finished here." He insisted, and when her voice finally came back to her, she spoke up.

"No we aren't. You can't confess that kind of thing and not expect me to have questions!" She insisted, stepping next to him, putting a hand on his arm, forgetting her crush for a moment, forgetting that he was an adult for a moment, forgetting that he'd be wanting to know her secret as well for a moment. "Y…you're a werewolf?" She asked once more and Professor Lupin finally turned around to face her, a sad smile on his lips.

"It's too late to deny it, isn't it?" He asked and she nodded.

"But…Didn't some of the staff members get upset when they found out?" She asked and he shrugged.

"Of course, and it took Dumbledore quite some time to convince some of the other staff members that I'm not a threat to anyone."

"But I don't understand…" She muttered. "How are you _not_ a threat? And I don't mean any offense by that, but…well I've done a fair bit of research on werewolves, don't they only hurt _people _on the full moon?" She asked and he nodded.

"But since my school days, Dumbledore's sent me to the Shrieking Shack on every full moon." He told her and she nodded.

"So…why are you telling _me_ all of this?" She asked.

"Well when I began to think you were one too, and seeing you with Hermione, Harry and Ron, I began to think of my school days, and how much I would've liked to have someone there for me, someone to talk me through things and tell me that it was possible to lead a fairly decent life. And well…now that I've let the cat out of the bag, I figured that it couldn't hurt to let you know…But Callista, how is it that you're not utterly repelled by this?" He asked.

_'Because you're gorgeous. Because you've made me blush and because the fact that you're a tortured soul only makes you that much more appealing…' _But she wasn't going to say that out loud.

"Well, back in my fourth year, I dove into a lot of literature, I didn't want to focus on anything in my life and I figured books would help me clear my mind. So, I ended up reading quite a bit about werewolves and was fascinated by them. There was this one book, 'Hairy Snout, Human Heart'…" She watched as Lupin's lips curved into a smile. "It was fascinating, really put werewolves into perspective for me…Since then I really haven't understood why people are so intolerant of them. And the laws the ministry passed…" She grumbled, shaking her head. Hearing Professor Lupin chuckle, she looked up.

"Callista Finch, you may just be one of _the_ most tolerant people I know…" He smiled and she snorted.

"Which probably balances out being so stubborn and confrontational." She wrinkled her nose and he laughed. Silence dawned over them for a minute and she finally broke it. "So I'd assume you want to know why I'm afraid of the full moon when I don't have the same…condition you do" She asked and he shook his head.

"Of course I want to. But you're a student, I'm a teacher, not one of your peers. And it's your secret, I volunteered mine to you, I'm not going to force it out of you, however I'm here anytime you need to talk to someone." He said and she looked at him, for once in her life wanting to tell her story. Hermione had just been the person to vent to. But she actually wanted to tell Professor Lupin. Somewhere in her mind, she knew it would be more than fair to do so. After all, he'd trusted her with his secret. Her heart beat sped up and a small voice, a more defensive voice in the back of her head told her not to do it, that he didn't need to know. But everything else about her screamed yes. He'd opened up to her, he'd let her in so why couldn't she let him in? **After all,** another voice spoke; **your crush really will be worthless if you don't even tell him a thing about you. **She felt her face color and put a hand on her cheek, turning slightly away from him.

"_Can_ I tell you?" She asked and his dark eyes widened. "It's not a pleasant story…" She started and he chortled.

"Mine's not either though." She allowed herself a brief laugh before nodding.

"This is true." Callista said. "But my story's really not on well… it's not the same kind of unpleasant that yours is." She began, brushing a curl behind her ear. "In my third year at Hogwarts, I'd finally managed to land my first boyfriend…" She laughed, bitterly at herself and tightened her grip around her waist.

Boyfriend story…" Lupin nodded. "I suppose this isn't a pleasant story…here," He gestured to his desk and one of the chairs near it. "Have a seat." Callista blushed and took the seat across from Lupin's.

"Thank you…" She drew a knee up to her chest. "So…my first boyfriend, while I was in my third year…he was a seventh year." She started. "I guess I've always had a thing for older guys. But for some reason, despite the age difference, I guess I thought it'd be a good idea. I have no idea why, but he was attractive and he was interested in me. Silly, boring little Callista Finch, maybe that's why…We were together almost the entire year, and everything was beautiful, but it had to be kept a secret. I mean, no one was going to approve of a thirteen year old seriously dating a seventeen year old. And to be honest, that whole secret thing kind of made me happy, that we had something that was just between the two of us.

By day, he'd play quiditch, I'd go to class and then we'd meet up in the common room once everyone had gone to bed and we'd just sit and talk. I'd had friends before him, I'd had people to talk to before him, but he was the first person I'd ever confided in. It wasn't too far into the year that I realized that I was in love with him. Nothing seemed like it could get better when he'd been holding me one night in the common room. It was about two in the morning and I was nearly falling asleep in his arms. He told me that he loved me and then I was wide awake again. I told him the same…but then he kissed me, and it wasn't the same way that he'd kissed me before. It wasn't sweet, it wasn't warm…It was all raw…I don't know how to explain it…" She bit her lips, feeling almost stupid for spilling out all of her problems, especially to a teacher. She stared up at him from beneath her eyelashes, feeling as though she was probably boring him to tears, being a baby about some silly little school girl romance, but to her surprise, he looked interested, sympathetic even.

"Go on." He insisted and she nodded.

"Well...um…I'm not sure how to say…what happened next…" She choked out, tightening her hold on her waist and she looked him in the eyes again and he nodded.

"I think I can understand what you mean…" He nodded and her face colored. The tears would start coming soon, she knew it, she felt it.

"Please, please don't criticize me, or think any less of me…I was young and really stupid then, I let myself do things I'd never have approved of now, and truly I hate myself for what I did—"

"Callista, we all make mistakes." Professor Lupin spoke up and her face colored. Something rushed through her and her body went rigid. This was the kind of feeling she hadn't felt in a while, the kind she was supposed to be fighting tooth and nail and her body rejected it vehemently. She pinched her eyes shut and drew her body in closer to herself. Maybe if she were anyone else, she'd let things just happen and just let herself fall for someone she knew she couldn't have, but something about her still protested it.

"But I let him! I said no, told him we shouldn't. But he kept saying please, kept telling me that he loved me, and then I let him!" She snapped, head falling in her lap. There was a moment of silence before she spoke up again. "I…A few months after that…it was after the exams. I was so happy that our relationship had lasted that long that I didn't even think of anything unpleasant, didn't even have pessimistic thoughts gnawing away at the corner of my mind when he told me that he wanted to take me for a walk.

It was really late at night, probably like eleven, we shouldn't have even been outside of the castle, but somehow we'd managed to sneak out…He held my hand, and led me away. I think I knew that we were heading out to the Forbidden Forest, but I can't remember for sure, everything about that night is so hazy, like I'm looking at it from behind a dark veiled curtain. I don't remember how far into the forest we got, but not that far, I could still see the sky above us…in fact, looking back on it now, I'm not even sure we made it to the forest…" She mumbled, smiling apologetically at Professor Lupin. "But somehow, we got to talking again. He told me that he'd had a lot of fun with me this year, that I was a beautiful girl, the kind any guy my age would dream of being with. And then he told me that it was time that he started getting serious with me though. At first, I thought he was going to propose. I knew I was far too young to get married, but a three year engagement didn't sound bad at all as long as I got to be with him. But then he told me that he was seriously thinking about his future, and yeah, we'd had a 'fun run', but while he was thinking about his future, he realized that I couldn't be a part of it. I think I begged him, actually got down on my knees, but he stood me up on my feet and told me that we both had to get on with our lives. I think I was crying…I can't remember…" But she was crying now and she was choking on her sobs, pinching her eyes tight. "But…but I remember that his words had been icy cold when I shouted after him. I told him that I loved him, told him that he was my everything and when he didn't even turn around, I thought the worst had come…that is, until he told me he didn't want me. Thought I was just some silly little girl and that I needed to grow up."

"Callista…Merlin, I'm so sorry…" Professor Lupin whispered but she shook her head.

"Please…let me finish?" She asked and he nodded. "I tried to go after him, to run to him, to plead with him, but my legs were shaky, weak, as though there weren't any muscles or bones inside of them. I fell to the ground, I was shaking, convulsing and sobbing, and I was choking on my own breath. It felt like everything was over, life, love and meaning…everything. I'm not sure when exactly they found me, lying there, in the grass, but I remember that it had been nearly a day. But I couldn't fall asleep, didn't want to eat or drink, all I even noticed was the moon. It was full, shining down on me, blinding me, almost as though it was mocking me. To this day I still can't even look at a full moon without thinking of him, without thinking of the night that I wanted to die more than ever, when I thought for sure everything was all over..." She paused for a moment, allowing him to take the situation in. "When they did find me, Hermione told me that my hair was a mess, matted up on the side of my face and my eyes were red and swollen. I wasn't talking right and the only words that came through my lips were 'he's gone, he doesn't love me'. I remember crying a lot after that, I couldn't eat, couldn't sleep, couldn't do much of anything. I think when I finally was able to do something, summer vacation had begun, and I didn't want my parents finding out I was with someone so much older than me. I spent a lot of time in my room that summer, hiding, pretending to read but actually, most of the time I'd be holding my wand to my temple, ready to kill myself, ready to just end things…" She bit her lip. "I'm not sure what snapped me out of things… I really don't, I think I just forced myself to block it out and the fact that I was able to dive into school work helped too…But I thought I was over this incident by now…I guess I was wrong…" She finished, looking down at the ground again as the blanket of silence came once more.

"Callista…I'm…not sure how to respond to that…" He murmured, staring apologetically up at her.

"Just…tell me that you don't think any less of me…" She whispered and for a minute there was silence. The blonde stood up, eyeing the ground. "Thank you for letting me vent…" She whispered and in that instant she felt a pair of arms around her, holding her tight to something that she felt was strong, but slim and was likely his torso. Her breath caught in her throat for a moment but finally, she allowed herself to relax.

"I'm sorry you had to go through that Callista…"  
"And I'm sorry for what happened to you, Professor." She muttered and he laughed a little bit, pulling away from her. "What?"

"Nothing…it's just…for a minute there, I forgot…I'm a Professor now…" He said. "What I wouldn't give to be a student again…" And then he gave a longing sort of glance in her direction that made her heart go crazy.

She was so, totally done, there was no way she could ignore any feelings now…


	4. Chapter 4: Pessimist

Hello everyone and welcome to chapter four! This took so long to come out, not because its super amazing or long or whatnot, but because it's a character building chapter, something that I HATE writing :P

Okay, so thanks goes out to: my wonderful friend Anna, who without, this would not be posted and I'd still be crying up in my room. Thank you so much sweetie.

Disclaimer: So yeah...I still dont own anything!

CHAPTER FOUR: Pessimist

_I thought my heart had learned its lesson, it feels so good when you start out. My head is screaming "get a grip girl!" unless you're dying to cry your heart out_

_-I won't say I'm in love from: Hercules_

Callista was a pessimist. She'd been one for as long as she could remember, even before her third year. She'd always had trouble accepting good things into her life because, even if she tried, there'd still be something eating away at the back of her mind telling her _'there's only so long that happiness can last, and since you're this happy it's going to hurt a lot more when you finally fall'_. So, needless to say the high that had produced itself after she shared her story with Professor Lupin made her utterly uncomfortable. It was going to have to end sometime; this was going to blow up in her face at sometime or another and she didn't want to be unprepared when it had happened. Part of her just wanted to run back to Lupin's office and take everything she'd said all back, pretend as though it hadn't happened. But there was another part of her, the part that she'd tried so hard to make optimistic that it nearly worked and it told her to let things be, whatever happened would happen and things would all work out in the end. Strange enough, the optimist had actually won out the argument that fought its way through her mind as she trudged to lunch, a good half an hour later than she was supposed to be.

Despite the fact that the optimist had won the first battle, the pessimist had won the second one. As she entered the great hall, bag clenched tightly to her chest, she noticed Ron, Harry, Hermione and everyone else—Slytherins included—who'd seen her in the Defense Against the Dark Arts class turn to look at her. She'd never felt what it was like before, had only read about the feeling that passed through someone when they walk into a room and realized that someone was just talking about them, but now, she knew that it was a hundred times worse than anything she'd read about. That could've had something to do with the fact that every set of eyes that had looked at her had likely been acting over-the-top concerned, immensely curious, or—and this idea came as she walked past Malfoy at the Slytherin table—mocking her. She wanted nothing more than to pinch her eyes shut and just walk straight out of the room, go to double potions and forget about the previous class, but she knew it wasn't a good idea. Gathering up her courage, she reminded herself that she was a Gryffindor, she was brave, she was strong and she most certainly wasn't going to let a few annoying pieces of gossip mess up her life. She clenched her jaw tightly and stared straight ahead, pretending like no one was looking at her and took her usual seat at the Gryffindor table, next to Hermione. She set her bag down on the floor next to her and slipped her hair back behind her shoulders when the silence finally broke.

"What did he say?" Hermione asked eyes wide and Callista felt herself blush. She wasn't going to tell Hermione that Professor Lupin was a werewolf, that was between the two of them—and the thought of something being just between the two of them made her blush even more, unwillingly—but she had no idea what to say. Hermione wouldn't drop the subject; that simply wasn't something that the girl knew how to do.

"Nothing 'Mione." Callista said turning to her food, keeping her eyes down on her plate.

"Calli…" Hermione started again.

"He just wanted to make sure I was okay," She said, biting her lips. Callista had never been a good liar; even as a child her mother knew the moment she started biting her lips that she was lying. That was always the telltale sign and she honestly hoped Hermione didn't notice. "He saw how torn up I was and gave me some chocolate, like he did for us on the train, you know?" She lied and went back to eating, knowing that Hermione wasn't satisfied with the answer. However the brunette backed down and returned back to eating, but it seemed that it was only because there was no way she was going to get a better answer with this many people around. The quartet ate in silence for another moment until Ron finally spoke up.

"What the bloody hell was that all about?" He asked and both Callista and Hermione flushed red.

"Stay out of it Ronald!" The brunette snapped and Ron's jaw dropped.

"The girl had a nervous breakdown over a full moon, I have every right to ask her questions Hermione!' Ron snapped back and Callista stood up. She couldn't eat, not in this kind of situation, not when there was shouting and staring and curiosity.

"You nearly had a nervous breakdown over a spider Ron, I don't suggest that you start judging my boggart when I've only ever met girls who are afraid of yours." Callista glared and Ron glared back at her standing up as well.

"Well I've only ever met werewolves who are afraid of yours!" Ron snapped and Callista's face went hot before she spun around on her heel and snatched up her bag

"I'll meet you in the dungeons for potions Hermione, Harry." She said and with that she was off, trudging down the corridors, grinding her teeth.

***

"That was awful!" Callista groaned, allowing her head to fall and her shoulders to slump as the group headed out of Professor Flitwick's classroom and back to the great hall once more.

"You really weren't _that_ bad." She heard Harry lie, but she shook her head, curls falling in her face.

"We were working with cheering charms, and I put Hermione into fits of laughter, Harry, I really don't think I did well at all…" She muttered but Hermione put a hand on her shoulder.

"You passed the O.W.L's in Charms; I don't see how you can be doing as poorly as you think you are. Perhaps the fact that you think you're going to do badly sets you up for failure…" Hermione started and Callista blushed. Hermione didn't know that she'd taken liquid luck just before the O.W.L's last year, no one did.

"I just _barely_ passed the O.W.L's!"

"You could always drop the class you know? Take Astronomy or something." Ron shrugged but Callista shook her head, standing herself upright.

"I think my dad would have a complete breakdown if I did."

"He'd be _that_ upset?" Hermione asked and she paused for a minute.

"It's not that he'd…well he _would_ be upset, but he wouldn't show it. Charms was dad's favorite class, his best class and since mum's a muggle, well he wanted his talent to be passed on to me, wanted his baby girl to take after him. If he knew that it took a hell of a lot of work and a long time worth of busting my ass to barely pass the course…well…" She shook her head, mind drifting back to the past two classes.

Double Potions first, which was awful. Snape talked the bulk of the class, voice a complete monotone, lack of light in the dungeon causing everyone to get drowsy. The worst part was, Callista knew everything that he'd said already, so the constant repetition of information actually did put her to sleep, which caused Snape to wake her up with a string of nasty words, informing her that her father was just as careless, just as lazy as she was before taking twenty points from Gryffindor. When she'd snapped back, he took another twenty points before setting them to work on the 'Drought of Living Death'. Hermione, Ron, Harry and basically the rest of the class, were going to pieces over the project, struggling to make the potion, adding the wrong amounts of certain ingredients, not stirring something properly, which seemed to put Snape in an even worse mood, although Callista would've been wiling to be her inheritance that he actually enjoyed others failing in his class. Perhaps that was why he was so awful to her, because she excelled in his class, the best at potions in her year and he couldn't see her fail, no matter what he'd thrown at her. And he had tried bloody hard to fail her. She recalled talking to Hermione, Ron and Harry last year, about the difficulty of their Potions O.W.L's, after they'd been taken. Comparing questions that their tests had asked, Callista's face began to burn when she realized that he'd given her much more difficult questions than the others had received.

The potion brewing had gone fine, but she'd been dreading Charms, her worst class so much that she'd broken one of the empty vials and Snape took another ten points from Gryffindor, which had of course, begun the down spiral of the rest of her classes.

In Charms, they'd worked on a cheering charm, something that was supposed to be simple, something that everyone else in her year had done easily and were feeling immensely giddy. She was partnered with Hermione and for a minute she was insanely cheerful. Hermione was really good in all of her classes and Charms was no exception, so the charm had worked on her. But the moment she knew that she'd have to work on it, the cheerfulness had worn off. She'd attempted to cast it on Hermione…and her friend couldn't stop laughing for ten minutes after the charm was cast. She'd overdone it, completely overdone it and she made her best friend look like an idiot.

"Alright, so what if you're not the best at Charms? You're bloody good at potions!" Ron insisted in a tone that made it very clear that he didn't want her to be upset with him anymore. She felt her lips tug into a smile and she shook her head at him.

"You're forgiven Weasley." She elbowed him in the shoulder and he grinned back at her.

"And besides, it's nice seeing Snape yelling at someone else for once." Harry said and Callista grinned wirily at him.

"Snape does seem to have it in for you two." Ron said and they both nodded. It had been like that ever since first year. Snape didn't seem to like much of anything with a pulse, but he seemed to especially loathe them and their fathers. And perhaps that was one of the many reasons that she liked Professor Lupin so much. Because Snape gave him a look of utter loathing that she thought he only reserved for she and Harry.

"But even_ I_ have to admit," Hermione smiled lightly. "It's rather amusing to see him getting so upset at you when you're the best in our year at potions. It's like he _wants_ you to fail."

"I'd be willing to bet any inheritance money that I ever get, that he wants me to. I think that would make him wet himself with joy." She snorted as they walked into the great hall.

"That'd sure be a sight to see, Snape wetting himself!" And the quartet burst into laughter, taking their seats at the Gryffindor table. Settling in, going after the food, it took the group a minute to realize the absence of Fred and George. However their forgetfulness was soon replaced with curiosity as the twins walked into the great hall faces in something that looked to be a mix between glee and shock.

"You've all had a lesson with Lupin, right?" Fred asked, sitting down right next to Callista, whose face went hot at the mention of a Defense Against the Dark Arts class. Had the twins heard about her awful breakdown as well? But after the four nodded, George continued on to something that had nothing to do with Callista, much to her pleasure.

"Have any of you ever had a better teacher than Lupin?"

"Honestly, I mean we've had a bunch of know-nothings until now!"

"But this guy, he really knows his stuff!" They finished, grinning brightly.

"So you just had a lesson with him?" Hermione asked and they nodded in unison, as though they were sort of one single entity, instead of two separate people.

"Great wasn't it? What'd you guys do today?" Fred asked, knowing smile pulling across his face.

"Don't act like you haven't heard! I'm sure the whole school has by now!" Ron snapped at his brothers and Callista turned away, lips fixing into a tight frown. She didn't want to talk about this anymore.

"Okay, so we just wanted to get some dirt out of Calli!" Fred grinned, tugging an arm around the blonde, as though they'd been best friends their entire lives. She resisted the urge to behave childishly and stick her tongue out at him while she ducked under his arm and away.

"I freaked out, nothing to it." She said shortly, going back to her food, but the twins laughed.

"No not _that_!" George said. "We wanted to know what you and Lupin spent a good thirty minutes talking about before you came down here for lunch!" Again, the blonde's face flushed and she stabbed a fork into something on her plate, which she stared unfocusedly at.

"That's none of your business." She insisted, chewing on a piece of what tasted to be pork of some sorts.

"But it still would be great to know!" Piped Dean Thomas, who was sitting on the opposite side of Ron. "I mean, Lupin seems like a cool guy, and you're the only one whose actually had a talk with him." He pointed out and her face went even hotter.

"Yeah, what's he like Callista?" Lavender Brown asked, big hazel eyes going even wider as she leaned across the table, Parvati Patil following her suit.

"Just drop it, okay?" She snapped and rolled her eyes, finishing her meal and standing up. "I'm off, I've got to go practice a Cheering Charm." She wrinkled her nose and gathered her books up in her hands.

"I'll come with you, I'm done eating too!" Hermione spoke up and Harry nodded, joining them. Ron, who had a fork full of food in his mouth stared up at the three of them, groaned and followed them out of the great hall.

"So you're not telling anyone about what you and Professor Lupin actually talked about?" Harry asked and she shook her head.

"It's not my story to tell." She insisted and Ron sighed, heavily.

"You're no fun Callista." He said and she rolled her eyes, front of her shoe catching on to a stair as her books came tumbling out of her bag and onto the floor.

"Blimey…" She hissed, dusting her skirt off as she shook her head at herself.

"Are you alright Callista?" But much to her surprise, it was not Ron, Hermione or Harry speaking. Her blue eyes widened and she looked up, face red to see Professor Lupin, standing right next to the group, offering his hand to her. She willed herself not to blush and she took hold of his hand, allowing him to pull her up, hand lingering in his for a moment until the two forced themselves away from each other. Her skin buzzed.

"I…think I'm fine…" She blushed, feeling extremely vulnerable. There he was, one of the two people who knew her deepest darkest secret, and she knew his darkest secret as well. The closeness, the weakness that she'd shown him practically buzzed around the air and she knew her friends could feel it too. Next to Ron, Hermione and Harry she felt uncomfortable, being with him, especially since not even Hermione had seen her as exposed as she was with Lupin earlier. She wondered if he felt anywhere near the same way she did and as she looked up, risking a glance at him, she noticed that his face was rather flushed too and he was avoiding her gaze. She looked at her feet and nodded, going to gather up her books when she realized that Lupin had already.

"Um, yes thank you…" She muttered, taking back her books, not risking another glance in his eyes, but her skin hummed once more as their arms brushed while he handed her books back to her. Her heart caught in her throat at the contact and she noticed Lupin blushing as well at the obvious sexual tension in the air. She didn't look at him after that, knowing that the secrets that they'd shared would come rushing back at her, in such a public situation.

"Well then…I should be off to dinner. Have a good night." He replied and she nodded, wishing him the same, before following Ron, Harry and Hermione back to Gryffindor tower, face still red because she couldn't take her mind off of Professor Lupin.


	5. Chapter 5: Nervous

Hello everyone and welcome to the next chapter in My Everything

I just have a few notes to address before we begin the chapter

First, was a mistake on my behalf. See, I'm just now reading the Harry Potter series for the first time (I'm on HBP now and had only just finished POA when I started this series, so any non-bookverse-errors, please try to bear with me) and didnt realize that not only was Luna a year younger than Harry, but a Ravenclaw...well now that's changed. She's in Harry's year and is in Gryffindor now, which would explain why she's been in the Gryffindor girls' dorm.

The second is that, I only got two reviews last chapter, which I wont lie, was a bit disappointing.

And finally, there are three things in this chapter that I want you to look out for, one is easy, one is a little more difficult to see and the last is very hard.

twilight references which I REALLY couldnt help. They suit these two characters so well, and honestly, I feel like they do the argument better than Bella and Edward do.

2. Spring Awakening references. If you know the Musical NOT the play, then it'll be super easy...well actually, if you know the script of the musical it'll be easy. I've got the whole thing memorized, so who knows I could be overestimating you all

3. A Glee reference. Very, very small, but I do quote Rachel Berry once.

This chapter goes out the the future reviewers whose names will be but in the authors note of the next chapter with a big thanks

DISCLAIMER: Nope, dont own anything. Not Fergie's lyrics, not Twilight (Why would I WANT to?), not Spring Awakening (Sadly) and not Glee. NOT Harry Potter either, if I did, there'd be a marauders fic out already and David Thewlis would NEVER EVER EVER have played Remus Lupin.

Chapter Five: Nervous

_Can't breathe When you touch my sleeve but I fly so crazy, whoa now, think I'm going down friends don't know what's with me_

_-Clumsy by: Fergie_

Callista's stomach was all butterflies. She stood, nervously, looking herself over for the fifth time that morning, in the full length mirror that Luna Lovegood, Parvarti Patil, Lavender Brown, Hermione and herself shared, in their dorm room, messing with her hair. It was, once again, time fore Defense Against the Dark Arts class, and this time, she was nervous. She knew that the Slytherins had class with them today, once again and she also knew that they were intending on making her life a living hell with all of the rumors that they were spreading about her nervous breakdown over a full moon. She'd already heard Draco Malfoy muttering something about how she shouldn't be in a house that prided itself in bravery, when she was afraid of the sky. Not only that, but this was the first time she'd be in the same room as Lupin, for the first time since their awkward little moment in the corridors, and honestly, she was not looking forward to being so utterly uncomfortable. She smoothed out her skirt again and went back into her thoughts once again. As much as she was nervous for her own, selfish reasons, she was nervous for Lupin as well. She remembered very clearly how nervous, how antsy he was with her in the corridor, if he was that antsy again today; she knew that some student—and her galleons were on Malfoy— would complain to their head of house who would complain to Dumbledore about an incompetent, werewolf teacher. Her face paled and she wondered if the fact that Lupin was a werewolf put Lupin on probation as is, and one step out of the line would…But no, she could _not_ allow herself to think that way, _not_ let the pessimist in her win. She was a fighter, she would definitely be ready to fight the pessimism. Nodding at herself in the mirror, she scooped up her book bag and headed out of the dormitory and into the common room, meeting up with Ron, Harry and Hermione once more, smiling at the latter two and ignoring the Weasley. She could definitely understand why Hermione disliked him so much. He was insensitive, whiny, nosey and just a jerk in general, she hadn't even spoken to him since the night of her and Lupin's little awkward moment, not when he was behaving the way he was.

_Surprisingly enough, the quartet's journey back to the common room was silent. However the silence wasn't comfortable, but awkward and Hermione, Ron and Harry were huddled together, Hermione occasionally hitting Ron on the arms with her books. It was uncomfortable, however it was certainly preferable to what transpired in the common room._

_"What was that about?" Ron blurted, the moment that the Fat Lady's portrait had swung shut. Callista's face flushed, Harry's eyes widened and Hermione's jaw dropped._

_"Ron!" She hissed._

_"Hermione, she's been acting funny all day! Asking for an explanation isn't rude!" He insisted._

_"Bloody hell it's not!" The blonde snapped. "Just mind your own business Weasley, okay?" _

_"Oh, so Hermione's allowed to ask you why you're so chipper, but I can't ask you why the bloody hell you could barely even stand to look at Lupin, after your little talk with him?" The red head asked, incredulously and Callista's face went crimson._

_"Like I said that's _none of your business_! I'll say it again so that you can understand. None. Of. Your. Business!" She shouted, sounding out each word as though she was explaining something to a petulant child. "If you're going to try and pry things out of me every single time I express any sort of emotion, then you might as well just stop talking to me!" And with that she spun around on her heel, face red with rage as she stormed up to her dormitory._

"Are you alright Calli?" Hermione asked, leading her friend casually away from the boys as they exited the Great Hall after breakfast. "I don't mean to pry!" She said quickly. "But you look rather pale and barely touched your breakfast this morning…" Callista shrugged, already getting to biting her lips.

"Just nervous about the crap that's going to come out of the Slytherin's mouths today in class…you know, about my little…erm…incident…" She replied, chewing on her lower lip. It wasn't a lie, she reminded herself, it was a technicality. She truly was nervous about the rumors that people were spreading, but that was nothing compared to the nervousness she felt about seeing Lupin again today. Willing herself to stop chewing her lips—it truly was a disgusting habit—she clamped her jaw shut and entered the Defense Against the Dark Arts class room. Much to her dismay, not _only _was Lupin not there yet, but Draco Malfoy, his two cronies Vincent Crabbe and Gregory Goyle and the whiny, pain in the ass little bitch, Pansy Parkinson were there too, all four smirking at her. Again, she wanted just to hide, but she reminded herself to be brave and she sat up straight at the table that she and Hermione usually sat at. Pulling out a quill and parchment, determined to ignore the quartet from hell, until she heard snickering and she rolled her icy blue eyes, giving in and turning to them.

"Okay Malfoy, I'll bite, what do you want?" She asked and the Slytherin smirked.

"We were just curious, Finch. You see, Crabbe, Goyle, Pansy and I've got a bet going and we were hoping that you could settle things for us." He said in and almost casual drawl, as Pansy giggled loudly. "You see, Goyle thinks you're afraid of the sky, Pansy thinks you're afraid of the dark, Crabbe thinks you're terrified of werewolves, but me…" And the smirk grew bigger, as did the leer in his voice. "I think you _are_ a werewolf!" He grinned as Crabbe and Goyle let out a series of loud, wolfish howls, Pansy doubled over in giggles and Callista tensed, grinding her teeth but trying desperately to laugh. She managed to choke out a 'ha'.

"You're all right!" She said in a tone of fake shock. "I'm a werewolf who's afraid of other werewolves who roam the dark, night sky." She said, voice instantly going deadpan, letting them know that she was not at all amused. Draco lazily waltzed over to Callista, grin plastered onto his face.

"You _are _a werewolf aren't you? So Finch, when did it happen, when were you bitten?" He asked, smirking and leaning against her table, face barely an inch away from hers. "Over the summer maybe? Out for a little 'late night swim'? You know…peeling the towel off of your hot, sweaty, naked—" And in that instant, her palm came into contact with his face, at full force, leaving an angry, red welt on his pale cheek. The boy pulled away, steely grey eyes going wide and jaw dropping as Pansy gasped loudly. "You're going to pay for that Finch!" He hissed and right as he did, Lupin walked into the room, brow arched at the scene in front of him.

"What's going on?" He asked, still avoiding Callista's eyes.

"She slapped me!" Draco shouted, pointing at Callista who paled. Dammit, this was not good. She was going to look like a violent little brat, someone who got into fights all the time. Finally, Lupin turned to her, eyes meeting hers and he flushed, as did she. He opened his mouth to say something but it sounded as though his breath caught in his throat and his face flushed an even darker shade of crimson.

"Detention, I'm afraid, Callista." He said and her face flushed even darker as well.

"He provoked me!" She insisted. "Honestly, it was sexual harassment, he was talking about my—"

"Well then, rest assured, I'll have a word with Professor Snape." He said, jaw clenched slightly as he looked at Draco, then back Callista, face instantly softening. "But violence is strictly prohibited at Hogwarts. So detention, tonight, five o'clock, in my office…" He trailed off, looking upset, almost as though it pained him to have to punish her. Her heart glowed and she could no longer find any reason to be upset about detention.

***

Callista's stomach quaked as she walked the corridors, just after dinner. Detention with Lupin. Something in the depths of her mind was swimming with naughty thoughts that she had to push away while she walked into the room, walking the stairs to Lupin's office before knocking on the door.

"Come in Callista." She heard him say and her heartbeat went rapid because her name rolled off of his tongue like silver. Slipping into his office, she noticed a copy of 'The Lord of the Flies' on his desk, something that he had clearly just set down.

"That's a fabulous book." Callista said and he grinned at her.

"It is, but I didn't know many Hogwarts students read muggle novels."

"Mum's a muggle. She's introduced me to a lot of stuff. But what about you? You're reading muggle literature too, need I remind you." She grinned.

"We're on the same boat Callista, my mother's a muggle as well." He smiled faintly before clearing his throat and pulling a roll of parchment, a quill and a bottle of ink out of his desk. "Not, Callista, considering Draco _did_ provoke you, and I trust this wont happen again, you'll only have to do lines, and believe me, I _know _that this is probably the most, well, preferable detention there is." He said.

"So you were the bad boy type, Professor Lupin?" She asked, grin tugging at the edge of her lips and he chortled a bit.

"Quite the contrary, actually, I was the mature one of my friends, but I definitely remember all of things they've told me about detentions…" He chuckled a little, eyes going sort of hazy for a minute; as though he was completely stuck back in his school days, a teenager for a minute again before going back to Callista, face flushing at his complete and total zone out moment. He handed her the parchment, quill and ink.

It was strange, the way she was acting in front of Lupin now. It was so much easier to converse with this person who knew so very much about her, when they were alone. When their private knowledge of each other wasn't something that no one else in the room knew of. She found that the conversation didn't even feel forced and honestly, it only made her like him even more. "If you could, Callista, write 'I will not slap other students', that would be much appreciated." He told her and she took the quill to the parchment.

_I will not slap other students, I will not slap other students, I will not slap other students_

"So which one are you?" He asked and she looked up, brow quirked. "Of your friends I mean, like I said I was the mature one…"

"Oh? Um…I don't know, maybe the emotional one?" She laughed a bit at herself. "I mean, Hermione's the smart one, Ron's the comic relief and well, Harry's the obvious leader. So I suppose I'm the heart of the group, if you will. I'm definitely more emotionally driven, at least more than the rest of the group, which kind of sucks." She wrinkled her nose up as she continued writing, silence passing over them again.

_I will not slap other students, I will not slap other students, I will not slap other students_

"Professor Lupin?" She interupted looking up a little.

"It's Remus." He smiled and she quirked a brow. "My first name, it's Remus. I don't suppose if it could hurt for you to call me that when it's just the two of us, and considering you know quite a bit about me anyways—"

"Seriously?" She asked, eyes actually going wide.

"Well, Callista, as unprofessional of me as it is," And he frowned a bit at himself for saying that. "I do consider you a friend. I don't tell just everyone about my condition, and I'm assuming you don't tell just anyone about your situation…"

"Wow…" Callista muttered, smile spreading wide across her face. "I definitely consider you a friend too." Her face warmed up and her heartbeat went rapid. "And um…as a friend, can I ask you a favor?" She asked, nervously tugging at the hem of her skirt.

"Of course." He said, but right as she was about to speak, her breath caught in her throat.

"Will you…erm..." Her quill quaked in her hand, but she kept her eyes trained to the paper, trying to seem nonchalant. "Would you bite me?" She asked, gaze moving upward as she stared pleasingly from underneath her eyelashes. Much as she expected, he was staring at her, dark brown eyes wide and jaw dropped.

"_Bite_ you?" He asked, incredulously.

"Me." She nodded.

"Callista, I could never inflict that curse on you, that's completely out of the question!" He insisted, almost as though that was a final answer and he expected her to drop it right there and then, however she looked up, setting down her quill.

"But if I _let _you?" She asked, eyes pleading.

"Never." He shook his head and her brow wrinkled.

"But if I _asked _you to?!?!"

"Callista, have you lost your mind? You've read about the restrictions on werewolves, how can you envy that sort of life?" He asked, tone more concerned for her well being, than upset.

"Because you don't have to be human when the moon is full and I do! You don't have to look at it and be overcome with stupid, human emotions!" She snapped and he looked stricken. "When I see it, I think of that awful night and I want to crumple up and hide under a blanket and play really sad music and cry! When I look at it, I don't want to feel anything!" She shouted, tone hysterical. Silence passed for a moment before she spoke again. "Please…" Her tone was barely a whisper that time. "I've wanted this since fourth year, when I read about werewolves. I've wanted to stop feeling anything on the full moon, and everyone in the school's going to think I'm a werewolf anyway, because of my boggart, so why not?"

"Callista, you're forgetting, I'm a teacher, you're a student, that's pushing boundaries far too much. And even if our relationship was…different…I still wouldn't." He said. "I don't want to put this burden on anyone else."

"It's not a burden if I'm the one asking for it!" She insisted but he shook his head.

"The answer is no Callista. Please, try to understand…"

"Don't worry, I do. I was just really hoping…but I understand." She nodded, continuing her lines in silence for another half an hour, until he spoke again.

"It's getting late Callista, you should go." He said and she nodded, standing up, ready to head out.

"Remus?" She asked, once again tugging at the hem of her skirt in a nervous fashion.

"Yes?"

"I've got another favor to ask…"

"Callista!" He sighed, shaking his head.

"No, not that again, something sensible to ask for this time." She started and then after a pause he spoke.

"Go ahead then…"

"I'm failing charms, or might as well be. I don't suppose you could tutor me in it, could you?" She asked and he smiled.

"I'd love to." He said. "We'll start tomorrow at five, twice a week, Tuesdays and Thursdays?" He asked and she nodded.

"Sounds great." And with that, she was off to the Gryffindor common room, looking forward to tomorrow at five o'clock.


	6. Chapter 6: Balance

Hey everyone and sorry this chapter took so long to come out, considering it's much shorter than some of my others. I've been going through a lot of stress lately--school, quitting facebook, being rejected from yet ANOTHER musical even though I'm better than half of the cast, and of course my boyfriend, the first boyfriend I've ever loved, dumped me a week ago today. The song at the begining is our song and it pretty much killed a piece of my soul, putting that, but it damn well works for Callista/Lupin, which I totally love.

For this chapter, I'd like to thank me few reviewers (still not as high as I'd like it to be), Vrose93 (Padfoot) because she loves me so much and listened to legally blonde the musical with me, snuck into whip it with me and even supported my gay NOT European theory, while offering to murder my ex. And she read my smut! :D. To alisonlynn (Moony), because I love you so very much even though you didnt come to my house to hang out with Padfoot and I on the full moon and suprisingly enough my ex. Because (to quote legally blonde the musical) the day he broke my heart, he handed me the chance to make a brand new start and I'd like to thank him for teaching me how to fail, cuz it's helped me to prevail.

Also, my birthday's in a week :D So I'm super excited for that!

But hope ya enjoy!

Disclaimer: I DEW NOT OWN!!!

Chapter Six: Balance

_You make me happy, whether you know it or not, we should be happy, that's what I said from the start, I am so happy knowing you are the one I will want for the rest of my days._

_-Happy by: Nevershoutnever_

_His fingers were trailing across her skin, leaving searing hot trails along her stomach as he lay fresh kisses upon her neck, holding her body tight to his with one arm. A breathy sigh escaped from her lips as her hands pushed off his tattered robes. Everything was beautiful, perfect, better than she'd ever dreamed of. She wrapped her stocking covered leg around his waist and he pressed himself down onto her, lying her back flat across his desk. Slowly and sensually, to the point where it was driving her insane, he toyed with the buttons on her shirt, undoing them slower than she thought possible. She hissed something at him and he merely smirked, kissing her on her lips while she tore desperately at his shirt, pulling his buttons off as quickly as she could manage, running her hands down his thin albeit muscular chest. Her hands moved right down, unbuckling his belt and that was when he finally stopped his teasing. He tugged her shirt open and unclipped her bra all in one quick motion, knocking her garments to the floor as she pulled his belt off. His lips moved hers quickly, trailing hot, wet kisses down her jugular and to her breast, taking one of them into her mouth and she moaned loudly. She needed him, right now. Quickly breathing her desires into his ear, she found that he caved, pulling her up by the waist, tugging off her skirt and undergarments, sliding his pants off and kissing her roughly on the lips before—_

"Callista?" The sound of her best friend's voice made Callista's eyes pop open and she sat upright, face going completely red. She turned, almost afraid to look Hermione in the eye, as though the brunette would be able to magically know what she had just dreamed of if she did. She swept her hair behind her ears and stared nervously up at her friend. "Do you have any idea what time it is?"  
"No, but I'm sure you're gonna tell me." Callista said, sheepishly smiling up at her friend before remembering that today was Thursday. "Bloody hell!" She shrieked, eyes going wide as she jumped out of bed. "How late is it?"

"8:50, I came up to make sure that you weren't ill." Hermione said, touching her forehead and Callista's face went red.

"I missed breakfast again, dammit!" The blonde hissed, tearing herself out of her soft, white, baby doll nightgown and tugged her stockings on, then her bra, skirt and shirt, tying her hair up into a very sloppy pony tail. "I so wish my mum was the witch and my dad was the muggle, if someone could teach me a spell to magically style my hair in five minutes, I'd easily give them an arm and leg." She whined, quickly rushing to the bathroom and brushing her teeth and then into the common room, seeing that Hermione was waiting for her, books at hand. Callista smiled thankfully, taking her book bag, and then gesturing Hermione forward as she pushed the picture frame open and the two girls darted through the halls and down the stairs, just barely making it to their Transfiguration class. Callista could tell that Professor McGonagall wanted desperately to say something, to scold them for being late, but considering they'd gotten to class precisely as it started, she couldn't say much of anything.

***

Callista's mind was in a whirl. Her classes had gone by in very slow, very dull blurs and all she could remember of lunch was that she ate about her weight in food, since she skipped breakfast and wasn't intending on eating dinner tonight, it was a miracle that the overeating didn't make her sick. She was rather certain that she had homework in Transfiguration, Divination, Care of Magical Creatures, Astronomy and History of Magic, but honestly, right now she didn't care. Instead, she was running as fast as her legs would take her to the Gryffindor Common Room. The fat lady did not seemed very pleased to see her at such an odd time though.

"What are you doing here now? Shouldn't you be at dinner?" She asked, arching an eyebrow at Callista who rolled her eyes.

"The password is Multa Quoque." She said, shifting her too heavy bag on her shoulders and the fat lady let out a huffy sigh.

"Oh, fine!" She grumbled and the portrait swung open. She bolted in and quickly ran into the bathroom that was connected to her shared dorm room and quickly tugged off her clothes and slipped into the shower.

The hot water felt so good as it beat down on her skin, but as much as she wanted to simply relax, she wanted more to see Remus, so she quickly washed her hair, shaved and jumped out of the shower, wrapping one of the fluffy, crimson towel's around her body, attempting to dry herself off as much as possible. Running a brush quickly through her hair, Callista dug through her wardrobe, wondering what exactly she should wear. Should she just enchant her uniform so that it was freshly cleaned or should she opt for the obviously more comfortable and potentially more seductive muggle clothes? Finally deciding that debating with herself wasn't worth the time, she quickly cast a cleaning charm—one of the few charms that she actually managed to grasp, which was good, considering they'd learned it in their first year— and applied her make up before stepping into her clean uniform, getting a chance to look herself over in the mirror for the first time today. There were very prominent dark circles beneath her eyes, even with the concealer, but considering it couldn't be helped, she decided not to dwell on it and simply slipped her flats on before grabbing her wand and dashed back out of the common room and into the hallways, making her way back to Remus's office.

Now Callista would be the first to admit that she was never much of an athlete. She wasn't awful at flying, but muggle sports weren't her forte. She'd never had much desire to run any sorts of distance and always found herself worn out from it way too quickly. Needless to say, by the time she'd run at her full speed all the way to Remus's office without stopping, she was completely out of breath. She sighed and she went to knock on the door at the top of her stairs, when it opened right before she got the chance to.

"You're late, Cal." Looking up, she noticed that Remus was smirking down at her and she felt a sheepish smile tug at the corners of her lips.

"Ran. All the way. Here. Not much. Of a runner. Sorry." She panted, staring out at him from beneath her eyelashes and he laughed, smirk quickly turning into a smile.

"Nothing to worry about, we'll just have to keep you out a little later, now won't we?" He asked, rhetorically and she laughed breathlessly, sinking into the chair opposite his, the chair she'd sat in last night. "Care for anything to drink? Pumpkin juice, tea, butter beer?" He asked and her eyes lit up.

"You have butter beer?" She asked, leaning forward and he laughed lightly.

"I'm assuming that you'd like it then?" He asked, handing her a bottle of it and she smiled from ear to ear nodding.

"Of course I like butter beer, it's like…the best drink anyone, anywhere has_ ever_ tasted." She said, taking the bottle from him and muttering a quick 'thank you'.

"So, from what I've heard from Professor Flitwick, your cheering charms could use quite a bit of work. He said and she nodded, taking a sip of butter beer, letting it warm her insides. She set her drink down and watched as Remus pulled a frog out from a cage near his desk and set it gently on his desk. Her eyes widened and she expected it to jump on her, however it sat still, looking rather melancholy. "And considering the current guarding situation in the school," His nose wrinkled slightly at the mention of dementors. "I figured this wouldn't be a bad thing to work on. This is one of the frogs that Professor McGonagall and Professor Flitwick both use, so that you sixth years can practice turning it into different things. After being transformed into a shoe, a lamp, a vase and being turned shocking pink, it really hasn't been the same, and stopped jumping at all quite a while ago. Professor McGonagall agreed that it would be a good idea to let you practice your cheering charm on him."

"McGonagall knows you're tutoring me?" She asked, arching her eyebrow and her eyes widened, however she didn't know why she seemed to be so shocked about this. He chortled lightly at her reaction and nodded.

"It was mentioned, yes. After all, the teachers should be informed about why we're spending so much time together. I mean, I haven't told anyone about the extent of our relationship, though." He said and she felt herself blush a little, getting annoyed at the warming sensation of blood rushing to her cheeks. In all honesty, a week ago, it might've felt nice, but now it was one hell of a nuisance.

"Neither did I." She replied and he nodded.

"Good, good. But I think for now, that is, while I'm still your professor, we should keep that under our hoods, you know what I mean?" He asked and she nodded in reply. "Good, now the first thing you should know about charms, Callista, is that unlike potions or transfiguration, charms teach us how to develop incantations for the use of bewitchment. Unlike in transfiguration, when you're merely changing the properties of something, charms teaches you to give them completely new and unexpected properties. So, with that in mind, I'd like you to think of why you've found you struggle so much in charms."

"Like you said, it's completely new properties, so I always mess things up by either completely overdoing them or completely under doing them, but that's only if I get them at all. I have absolutely no natural talent in the subject. I only passed my O.W.L's because of sheer, dumb luck." She admitted, eyes gong down to her wand, which she slowly picked up. He smiled apologetically at her, picking up his own wand and muttering a quick cheering charm. Suddenly, everything in her grew warm, more so than usual while she was in his presence. A smile fought for dominance across her lips and she looked up at him.

"Neutralizing things, then?" He asked, coming up behind her, setting his wand down before he did. "Well, honestly Cal, that's a pretty normal mistake, you've got nothing to worry about, I'd say. It's just like…riding a broomstick." He decided, putting his hand on hers, directing her wand movements. "All it takes is a little balance…Now just repeat the charm and if all goes as planned; the frog will probably do a little jump for joy." She recited the incantation, letting Remus's hand guide her movements and directed it at the frog he'd set out for her to practice on. A flowing steam of bright, shiny, silver-turquoise light shot out of her wand and at the frog who, once it touched him, jumped in a way that could only be marked as pure and certain joy. Her eyes went wide and a large smile spread across her lips.

"I did it!" She announced and he smiled as wide as she did nodding.

"And you did it perfectly."

"I've never produced a proper cheering charm before! Even after practicing with Hermione, who's fabulous at Charms, I've never gotten it right, until now!" She squeaked and spun around on her heel, diving at him and wrapping her arms around his neck, pressing herself close to him. He put his arms around her waist, hugging her just as tight.

"It just takes a little balance, once you got that it was completely natural, easy even, wasn't it?" He asked and she nodded, feeling the glee from the cheering charm cast on her, along with the success that had come from finally not messing up a cheering charm began to overwhelm her and her breath caught in her throat. She told herself to relax, letting the logical part of her brain begin to work and once she finally calmed down, she pulled away from Remus, her heart beating fast. He had helped her through this, he was making her happier than she'd ever been before, and it was all so easy for him to do. Her clear blue optics met his dark brown ones and the grins on both of their faces only widened.

"Thank you so much! I really couldn't have done it without you!" She said and he smiled widely, face glowing before he swerved around her and reached quickly into his desk. He pulled something out and tossed it to her. She sloppily caught it and looked down, realizing that it was a bar of chocolate. She quirked a brow at him. She was in a wonderful mood now and no dementors were anywhere near to mess it up, why had he given it to her?  
"Eat up, you deserve it." He said and her heart swelled three times its normal size in her chest as she nodded and took a bite of the chocolate. In all honesty, she hated the high she was on. It was so powerful, so strong, so perfect that she knew the crash might very well kill her and she'd never feel this happy again. But somewhere, some tiny voice in the back of her mind screamed that she was wrong and should just enjoy the moment. And as rare as it was, she listened to the voice and spent the rest of the evening talking with Remus, high only increasing with each word that came out of either of their mouths. And something told her that it had nothing to do with the cheering charms _or_ the chocolate.


	7. Chapter 7: Middle Name

Dont worry guys, no long authors note this time, just me saying that I really loved writing this chapter, and I hope you enjoy reading it. Thanks Moony for telling me Remus's dad's name and thanks Padfoot for practically being my beta reader LOL. This chapter is for my long lost twin, Thisobsessioniscontagious. If you havent read any of her stuff, then go read it now!

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Except Lupin's wand, which Padfoot and Moony got me for my birthday :D

Chapter Seven: Middle Name

_Another time, another place, our temperatures would climb, there'd be a long embrace we'd do another dance, it'd be another play, looking for romance, come back another day_

_-Another Day from: RENT_

As compared to the first tutoring session, Callista's talent decreased heavily. The color changing charms had most certainly _not_ worked and her summoning charm was still only mediocre. It definitely wasn't Remus's fault though, he'd spent hours on end trying desperately to work with her but even when he walked up behind her, pressed his body against hers and tried to direct her wand movements, her progress was still barely noticeable. In all honesty, the blonde felt awful about it. He was a great teacher, truly he was, anyone else would have improved drastically by now but she was just no good. She knew that as upset as she was, he was probably fairing a lot worse, because really, how much discouragement can a teacher take before he starts to feel like a failure too? So in attempt to lighten the mood, Callista walked into his office one Tuesday, with an armful of pumpkin pasties that she'd gotten from the house-elves in the kitchen and a question at the tip of her tongue.

"What's your middle name?" Remus's head popped up as he took in the girl in front of him and then the food, quirking a brow at her. She'd never entered his office without knocking and she'd never brought food before.

"Excuse me?" He asked and she smiled, striding over to the desk, putting the tray of pumpkin pasties down and sitting in her usual chair.

"I was thinking, you know? I know _so much _about you, well your life, that is, but yet, I still don't know your middle name…pastie?" She asked, gesturing to the tray.

"Um…sure…" He reached to grab one, quirking a brow at her absurd mood.

"It's the first time I've slept well in a while." She admitted, brushing her hair behind her ear. It was true, she'd been having fairly raunchy dreams about him for weeks now and last night, she'd managed to finally fall into a very deep, dreamless sleep. She hated dreaming, really, it was senseless. Especially when her dreams got too good, waking up became a real bitch. "So I'm a little giddy." She said and he nodded, chuckling.

"Any reason behind your sleep depravation?" He asked and her face went bright crimson as she shrugged.

"When I dream, I never get a good sleep, never feel well rested." She answered and he nodded, handing over a bottle of butter beer.

"It's John, by the way. Remus John Lupin." He told her after taking a sip of his own butter beer. "What's yours?"

"Evelyn, after my mum's grand mother. I never did meet her though, most of my mum's relatives passed away long before I was even born."

And with that, the tutoring sessions had disappeared and turned right into long, in depth discussions about absolutely everything. They talked for hours on end and their Tuesdays and Thursdays became Mondays through Saturdays, leaving only Sundays for them to be apart. They'd decided early on that Callista could ask anything she wanted to on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays and Remus had Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays for his questions. At first they'd started off with simple stuff: favorite color, favorite foods and drinks, favorite books. And then things got heavier. The first heavy question, was of course, asked by Callista who was insanely curious the moment that she walked in that day, and asked the question, even before sitting down,

"Can you tell me about when you were turned into a werewolf?" Her eyes were wide and curious and once again, she'd brought bundles of food with her.

"Um…what?" He asked, arching and eyebrow and she blushed, sitting down.

"I got a little ahead of myself, you know me, I get carried away with my thoughts too easily and that usually leads to me saying things completely at random. Um…I know it's not a pleasant thing to talk about…but …could you tell me about the night you were bitten?" She asked, tugging a bit more at the hem of her skirt and after a moment of silence, she looked up to see him staring at her.

"Actually Callista, I was wondering how long it'd be until you asked me. Morbid curiosity tends to get to the best of us. And you know a far cry more about me than most people do; I might as well get this out of the way.

You see, when I young, very young, before I'd even got my acceptance to Hogwarts, I made the mistake of being out on my own, in the woods on a full moon. My father, despite being the brilliant man he was, made the mistake of offending Fernir Greyback, I'm assuming you know who he is from your readings, he's fairly infamous around my kind." He said and she nodded.

"The werewolf that makes a habit of biting as many people as possible, focusing particularly on the young so that he can take them from their parents and teach them to hate wizards. He's usually associated with texts about Voldemort." She said, speaking the name clearly and looking surprised as Remus didn't flinch. After six years with Harry, Callista had grown easily accustomed to saying his name and was pleasantly surprised that Remus didn't seem to mind. "You didn't flinch." She commented and he chuckled.

"Fear in the name only increases fear in the thing itself. You seem to understand that too though, don't you?" He asked. "But anyway, well, needless to say, that while I was out, something in Fernir recognized me as John Lupin's son and well…he seemed to think I'd be a great target. My parents found me shortly after and they tried _everything_ to cure me. When they couldn't, I was locked up in the house all the time and never had any contact with the outside world. Dad didn't think I was going to get accepted into Hogwarts, what with my condition, so he tutored me a lot. Transformations back then were always very painful. But then I got my acceptance letter to Hogwarts and Professor Dumbledore always made the proper precautions. The Whomping Willow was planted because of me, you know, other things like that. And the potions that Madam Pomfrey gave me were always very helpful, made things a lot less painful." He informed.

The next penetrating question asked was also from Callista, but strangely enough, it was a lot more prying than the previous question. However Remus noticed, much to his pleasure, that she never seemed to hesitate in advancing their relationship and always had the courage to ask the questions that he'd wanted to share the answer to but never knew whether she wanted to know or not.

"Remus, can I um…ask you something a little uncomfortable again?"

"Cal, I think we've passed the point of no return on uncomfortable topics." He chuckled, leaning forward in his chair, moving closer to her. "What is it?"  
"Wh—what was your first time like?" She choked out; flushing lightly and he stared at her, dark eyes going wide. "I'm sorry…too much? I just…figured it would be better than mine, no matter how bad it was." She said and he flushed a little too, shaking his head at her.

"I'll admit, I was not expecting that. You really never cease to amaze me Cal. But yes, my first time was probably a far cry less traumatic than yours. And I was a lot older than you were. It was my seventh year and I'd gone my entire life without a girlfriend. I was younger than the rest of my friends, but they seemed to think that I really needed some sex. A friend of one of my closest friends, Harry's father James, in fact had a very close friend, if you could really call her that, she was more of a 'friend with benefits'. She was probably infamous for making her rounds with the boys and then dropping them quickly, not that any of them cared. She was a good shag, that was all. And she was beautiful, so it was no surprise that she got around." He said and Callista's hands clenched tightly into fists as he mentioned how beautiful this girl was. "Her name was Cosette Veldare, another Gryffindor in our year and she was half Veela, so certainly you can understand what I'm saying when I say I wasn't exactly…thinking straight when James said that she was going to show me a good time. I was well aware that most of my friends had slept with this girl several times, but well…something about her just lured me in on a very physical level."

"It was just physical though? You weren't like…emotionally connected to her?" Callista blurted out, eyes going wide and he chuckled, shaking his head.

"Definitely not. Nothing like what we have." He said and the blonde felt her skin begin to buzz. "So basically she took me back to my room and that was that. We didn't speak any more than usual after that, she went right back to sleeping with everyone I knew and I went right back to my life."

"So both of our firsts suck then?" She asked, biting on her lips and he quirked a brow. "Well yours was terribly unromantic, with some girl you barely even knew. And mine, well was barely consensual and possibly not even legal." She laughed bitterly and he shrugged. "Come to think of it, aren't there laws against werewolves having sex?" She asked and his jaw clenched.

"Oh yes, those lovely laws placed in affect by Dolores Umbridge. Those are actually fairly recent, what I did was legal then, now it wouldn't be though." He said. "I won't admit to hating much of anything Callista, but I will admit to hating those laws. It's damn near impossible for me to find any work at all, which is why this job worked out well for me. I'd done a little bit of work as a teacher before, for smaller schools and Dumbledore desperately needed someone to fill this post, considering the bad feelings often associated with it. And well, I was happier in my time at Hogwarts than I'd ever been in my life. Can you honestly blame me for returning here? The only thing is…" He paused, looking her dead in the eye, face only inches from hers. "I can't decide whether or not I was happier then, young and learning with my first, real friends. Or now, teaching students, reminiscing and being with you. They're the best memories I've got." He said and her heart rate sped up. It pounded in her ears and she wondered if Remus's senses, which were much keener than hers, could pick it up. Apparently he could, because slowly, he pulled away and stared at the grandfather clock on his wall. "It's getting late Cal; you should go back to Gryffindor Tower." He said and she nodded, flushing and smiling at him, slowly standing up, feeling like she was on a cloud. She noticed him standing up too, walking her to the door of his office and cutting in front of her, holding the door open. It was a very chivalrous gesture, something he'd yet to do until now. "I'm glad we got to talking tonight, I really enjoyed it." He said, leaning against the door frame, smiling down at her. She looked up, loving how petite she felt next to him, despite her tall frame.

"So did I. Same time tomorrow night?" She asked and he nodded, grinning just as hugely as she was by now.

"Of course." He said, and right as she was about to turn around, she hesitated, in his doorway, brushing off the nonexistent wrinkles on her skirt. "What is it?" He asked after a moment of her hesitation. She knew that he could hear her heartbeat now, because it was pounding ten times as hard as before, but she also knew what she wanted. She spun around on her heel, turning to him and striding up next to him, staring him right in the eyes. "Callista?" He asked once again and her heart beat quickened at the sound of her name rolling off of his tongue. It was now or never. She leaned forward on her toes and in one lithe, swift movement; she grabbed his face up in her hands, pressing her body to his, and kissed him. She pinched her eyes shut quickly, keeping herself pressed to him, pouring every ounce of passion into the kiss and much to her pleasure, after a second, he responded too. He grabbed her quickly, heatedly by the waist and quickly darted his tongue into her mouth. She gasped and then sighed down, letting his tongue explore every ounce of her mouth before she begin to fight back for dominance and explore his mouth. His hand moved to her thing, pulling her stocking covered leg around his waist. In the heat of the moment, Callista caught her hands moving away from Remus's face and doing exactly what her darkest desires had been screaming for nearly a month now. She moved desperately to the buttons of Remus's jacked and tugged one open before his hands moved down to where hers were, pulled them away and he quickly pulled away from her kiss, eyes wide and horrified. "Callista, I think it's time you leave now…" He choked out and she quirked an eyebrow as he dropped her hands to her sides. She'd felt him kiss her back, felt the passion he'd poured in and felt him pull her leg around his. Her eyes widened.

"No!"

"Callista now is _not_ the time to behave like a petulant child!" He snapped and her face flushed. A child…He'd _never ever _referred to her as a child before. He was perhaps the only adult who'd treated her as an equal, not an inferior. However, she was far too riled up to simply back down now. Her temper flared and she stood in the same place, looking him dead on in the eyes, hands clenching into tight fists.

"No, you owe me an explanation!" She insisted.

"I don't owe you anything!" He snapped again and her face grew even redder. No…this was a bad dream, a very bad dream, an awful nightmare, this could not be happening. Her anger threatened to do something rather rash but she repressed it, keeping her hands pinned to her sides as she stared up at him.

"I'm not leaving until you give me an explanation!"

"Callista, I'm ordering you to get back to Gryffindor tower right now." He growled and her face went cold. This was worse than him yelling at her. She'd really messed up, she knew she'd hit something and the wolf in him was probably screaming for him to attack her.

"Fine." And with that she stormed off, back to Gryffindor tower, hissing the password at the fat lady and shoving passed Harry, Ron and Hermione, along with all of the other Gryffindor's in the common room before heading straight into her bed, letting her repressed rage burn her into exhaustion before falling into a very black, dreamless sleep.


	8. Chapter 8: Rejuvenated

Shortest chapter yet but filled with loads of lovely symbolism and the start of the second arc in this story! LE WOOT! Thanks to all, especially Thisobsessioniscontagious, for getting me back into this fic without even meaning too

Read, review, love.

Disclaimer: I own nothing

Chapter Eight: Rejuvenated

_Take a silent breath, hold in the change, tell yourself you still live here. Take your bags upstairs, it's the only way you'll get through today. Count the hours, take a shower, wash yourself away_

_ -How To Return Home from: The Freshman Experience_

_Everything was freezing. Callista's body was, in fact, so immensely cold that she began to wonder if she was even alive anymore. The logical part of her brain seemed to be alive though, because it told her that she was most certainly not dead if she was capable of thinking. However, she did wonder, why in the world she wasn't shivering if she was so cold. Right now, with the temperature of her body, she should've been shivering violently, or at least have been curled in a ball, trying to warm herself. However, Callista felt that since she was so cold, if she moved, she might snap like an icicle. Something else that Callista noticed was that things were dark and very wet. Something told her that she was drowning in the darkest depths of some kind of ocean, but the survival instinct was simply not kicking in, so she decided just not to move. The water was seeping into her lungs, but somehow, she felt comfortable breathing it. She'd read somewhere that while drowning, once the lack of air got to a person, they simply felt like they were falling asleep. Although that wasn't her exact feeling, she was willing to accept the fact that she was going to drown, going to die right here. It would be a peaceful way to die, no one would know that she'd suffered, as long as she didn't tell anyone,—not that she'd get the chance to, she'd be dead soon anyway— no one would feel bad for her. It hurt, it hurt so bloody badly, but the water was so cold that if she just focused on that, she could pretend that the pain wasn't there._

_ She was well aware that whatever was causing the pain was piercing her skin. Biting, ripping, tearing at the flesh and then devouring it. It seemed that the more it tore her skin, the easier it was to ignore, as though along with the distraction of the water, she was becoming immune to the pain. The ache seemed to be moving, slowly coming closer to the center of her body. By now her hair, feet, calves and forearms were completely gone. The raw wounds actually didn't hurt as much as they should until she thought of them. She took a breath of ice water and in that inhale; the thing that caused that pain seemed to thrive, for it consumed half of her thighs, forearms and skull. The ice water was destroying her. Her heart rate sped up and her fight or flight instinct finally kicked in, but when she tried moving, a new sort of pain shot from her heart across her body and that pain was too much for her to handle. She instantly fell back, letting the first pain consume her as she focused on the ice water. So cold…so dark…_

_ But then suddenly, like the flick of a switch, she was torn out of the water, no longer able to simply let a little death in. This new place was warm and dry and light and she noticed that her body was back but being attacked with a searing pain that she obviously hadn't noticed before because of the numbing sensation of the ice water. A guttural scream erupted from her throat as her body writhed. She sucked in a breath of air, hoping that it would at least quiet her, but strangely enough, not only did the air quiet her it actually…felt good. Like water after years of being in a desert, but then again considering she'd just been drowning, that didn't feel like the best analogy. She was positive that she was alive now and the imminent death that she thought had once been there was completely out of her system. She sucked in another breath and felt the pain from her limbs begin to disappear. Her eyelids fluttered shut and the air began mending the damage that the scream had done to her throat, like warm honey was being poured down it. This was wonderful. She felt her hair tickle her chest, felt blush coat her cheeks, felt the warmth move back into her hands as the sun light of this beautiful place warmed every ounce of her body. Opening her eyes, she noticed a dark curtain being shut behind her as though closing off the ocean, letting her savor the feeling of summertime on her skin. How had she lived without this? How in the world had she ever survived without feeling like this until now?_

_ Another breath of air and she felt something hovering over her. Mind snapping alive at this presence, she stared up at it, but sadly all she could see was the silhouette of whatever she felt over her. Something in her heart kicked alive as she stared up at this presence, something inside of her knew that this was a very good presence. As it got closer, she felt her eyes snap shut—and not of their own accord—and the presence lifted her up, holding her close to it. This was the source of the warmth, it was radiating even stronger now and was rubbing off onto her. She inhaled the source of the warmth and wrapped her arms around it and instantly, the presence dropped her. Feeling herself fall slowly and feeling the darkness close in on her once again, her eyes popped right open and she watched the curtain open, revealing the ocean. The blush had faded from her face and all of her body went cold, the pain from the previous encounters with the ocean burned at her chest as she slid closer to it. She wanted to scream but she saw the presence looming over her. It wasn't going to let her feel good again, but it didn't want her to get hurt. The impassiveness was driving her mad and she went to lunge at the object but simply fell through it and the presence was gone, replaced with complete and total darkness._

Callista jolted awake, eyes going wide, pulse rapid and stomach clenching. It was a bad dream, she told herself, sucking in a breath that was supposed to calm her, but it definitely did not. If anything, it only reminded her of what had happened when she felt good about breathing back in the dream. Putting a hand on her heart and lying back down, staring up at the ceiling in another attempt to calm herself she went over the dream in her head. The pain from the ocean, she'd felt it all before, the feeling was just so much more…defined in that dream. And the relief she felt, that was all something that she'd felt in real life too. Brushing her hair behind her ear as she finally sat up again, she went to smack herself on the head at the obvious symbolism of the dream. How thick could she get? She sucked in another breath and rubbed her eyes, glancing briefly at her disheveled appearance in the full length mirror and then at the clock. It was well past noon, but it was also Sunday, which meant that it didn't actually matter what time she slept till. Stupid, bloody nightmares. Stripping quickly out of her eyelet nightgown and undergarments, since everyone else had left the dormitory already, she went for the bathroom, turning on the shower and letting the water warm while she looked at herself once more in the bathroom mirror.

Her makeup was smeared, especially the eyeliner and mascara because of the crying that she'd done yesterday. Her hair was tangled and frizzy and matted up on the side of her face because she'd simply chosen not to brush it or even to shower yesterday…yesterday…

She'd spent hours and hours on end, pacing back and forth in her dormitory, lying to Hermione and telling her that she was simply a little stressed due to the workload she had in all of her classes. Seeming to accept the answer, her best friend didn't bother her much after that. She'd also spent hours sitting on her bed, hunched over with her elbows propped up onto her knees and her hands on the sides of her head, contemplating whether or not she should go to Remus's office and demand the explanation that she most definitely deserved. Despite the fact that she was a bloody Gryffindor and was damn well supposed to be brave, she couldn't bring herself to walk down the stairs to the werewolf's classroom, especially since the full moon was fast approaching. Once it was good and done with, she'd told herself, she could go and have a civilized chat with him. After all, it was not smart to piss a werewolf off with the full moon being only days away. Since the next one was to be the day after Halloween, she decided that she'd talk to him sometime in early October and settle this and in the mean time, she'd fake sick to get out of all of her Defense Against The Dark Arts classes. But after that dream last night, she didn't think that was going to work.

Stepping into the hot water, she let the water boil down upon her skin and she closed her eyes, sitting on the ground of the shower. She'd never been much of a hot shower kind of girl—she'd always found cold showers more refreshing— but this felt glorious now. Inhaling the humid air, she opened her eyes quickly lathering some shampoo into her tangled blonde curls and washed the grease that had surely formed in it away, hoping that she'd no longer look like a blonde Snape. Just because she was brilliant at potions didn't mean she had to have as greasy of hair as he did. After the shampoo washed out of it, she leaned back in the shower, resting her head against the wall and let the hot water pelt upon her chest, the place that seemed to need warming most right now because her heart certainly didn't feel warm without it.

Going over the nightmare again in her head, she knew that it definitely was a sign that she had to go talk to Remus right after she was done rejuvenating herself. It was strange, Callista thought, that she didn't wake up screaming, as she'd done many times before, after her last break up. Perhaps it was because she trusted Remus, needed him like air, needed him more than she was comfortable with and she didn't honestly believe that he'd wanted to hurt her. No, he'd been hurt in the past too, in other ways but hurt nonetheless. And he said that they were friends, friends didn't hurt each other without a reason. He'd tell her why once he was good and calmed down and hopefully he would be by now. Honestly, she missed him yesterday and missing someone wasn't something that Callista cared to do ever again.

Quickly sloshing some conditioner in her hair, Callista washed off her hands in the shower water and went for her razor, making sure to get as clean of a shave as possible. It felt strange but it felt essential to get as much of the old her away from the new her. No, not the new her, she truly hadn't changed one single bit…but she felt that the desire to be strong was definitely one that should be celebrated with a bit of rejuvenation. Giving herself a quick dousing of soap and then rinsing everything off of her, Callista turned the water off and stepped out into the steamy bathroom, closing her eyes and just feeling the humid air on her skin. Before opening the door and walking back into the dormitory.

Being that it was Sunday and school clothes were utterly unessential today, she donned one of her favorite outfits: a white, baby doll, sweater dress with short sleeves, and a pair of opaque black tights, along with her favorite black flats. Her make up and hair rituals were the same as every other day: turquoise eyeliner around her eyes and black mascara, and a brush simply ran through her hair to untangle it.

Very pleased at her current appearance, Callista set off for her bag and eating some of the sweets that she'd had in there left over from the train. Pumpkin Pasties and a licorice wand. Not a very healthy breakfast, but food nonetheless. For she wasn't up to pestering the houselves in the kitchen for food. She quickly scrubbed her teeth clean, looked at herself once again in the mirror, and feeling refreshed and awake and sure of herself, she set out for Remus's office.

She was going to get her explanation.


	9. Chapter 9: Liquid Luck

Part one of the double update today, yay! Actually, I think that's all I have to say...

Disclaimer: Nothing is owned!

Chapter Nine: Liquid Luck

_Young teacher the subject, of schoolgirl fantasy. She wants him so badly, knows what she wants to be. Inside her there's longing, this girl's an open page. Book marking, she's so close now, this girl is half his age_

_-Don't Stand So Close To Me by: The Police_

"We need to talk." The words spilled from her lips the moment that she entered his office, not even bothering to knock on the door. The look on Remus's face was utter shock and for a moment, Callista felt bad at the accusatory tone of her voice…that was until she remembered that his senses were much keener than hers and chances were he smelled her coming a mile away.

"Actually, I need to grade these papers and you need to leave. It's a Sunday morning; shouldn't you be out on the grounds with your friends?" His tone was so light that she forced herself to grind down on her teeth in attempt to keep herself from getting frustrated with him.

"I spent all day yesterday with my friends, Hermione mostly and to be quite frank I think you owe her an apology just as much as you owe me one. She didn't deserve to watch me cry like that again, and she definitely didn't deserve the piece of crap reason I had to give her." Callista snapped and slapped her hands down onto his desk, blue eyes burning into his brown ones.

"I don't owe you anything Callista." He replied, brushing her off and going back to the papers he was grading, which, with an irritated groan, she pulled away from him and into her arms.

"Yes you do." She said and after a moment of staring up at her, he sighed and looked back down. "You're my friend, please; please don't do this to me." She whispered, setting his papers back down.

"Then please don't call me your friend. That's how we got into this mess anyhow. I let my emotions get the best of me and I did some really stupid things." He muttered and her face went hot.

"S-stupid things?" She asked, eyes widening. No, not again…

"What else would you call it?"

"I—" But she couldn't find the words. "How could you? How could you lead me on, knowing what had happened to me if you only knew it could end like this?" She asked, finding that she was still somehow managing to keep eye contact with him. When he didn't speak up right away and the tears started to build up again, she spun around on her heel before feeling something warm wrap around her wrist and spin her back around.

"I'm sorry. But…Merlin, Cal I have no idea what to say to you! My actions were completely out of line, I shouldn't have acted like that, you're a student and because of that, you keep making me forget that I'm a teacher, I have responsibilities, I have a standard to set and I can't do that when I'm infatuated with a student!" He said and after she paused a moment, she arched an eyebrow.

"Is that seriously what this is all about?" She asked. "You're worried that we're going to get caught? Because we're not. My parents didn't even know about what went on in my third year, I think the only person that does is Hermione and I'm not going to tell her anything about us because I'm fairly certain she'd attempt to cut me if she knew."

"It's not just that!" He said and slowly let go of her wrist, turning away from her to stare at the wall behind him.

"Then _what_ is it? You've told me everything else, why can't you tell me this?"

"It's because of what I am." After a moment, the blonde burst out laughing, throwing her head back and all, which caused Remus to turn around, arching an eyebrow at her. "This is _not _a laughing matter, Callista." But the blonde shook her head, smiling a little at him.

"Actually, it is. I've told you before that I don't care, I don't care if you're a werewolf. Blimey, you could be a vampire and because it's you, I'd probably beg you to suck my blood so that you didn't need to strain yourself and hunt down any victims." She said and he paled even more, sitting back down in his chair. Watching his actions, she sat down in the chair across from his desk, which she had assumed was only there because of her.

"Do you know who Dolores Umbridge is?" He asked and she paled. He didn't need to say anymore.

"The restrictions…" She breathed and he nodded.

"I _want_ to be with you Callista; I'm selfish in that way. If I wasn't, I'd be a stronger man and I wouldn't have lead you on, I would've pushed you away the moment I noticed that I was attracted to you. But because I'm selfish, I indulged in your presence; I even let you kiss me. Hell, I even kissed you back. But being with you would be illegal on so many levels that I would probably end up damaging you even more in the process. If anyone ever found out, even on accident, I'd be locked up in Azkaban and you…well you'd be in a lot of trouble with the law too, not to mention the problems you'd have with all of your classmates. I've seen the way that Draco Malfoy harasses you now, the last thing you need is for him to know about our relationship. And what would your parents say?" Remus asked, resting his elbows on the desk, and putting his head between his hands. The softness in his voice made Callista pale and stare down at her ballet flats but then back up to him, putting a hand on his forearm, however he pulled away the moment they made contact. "Don't think this is easy for me, because it isn't. You've made me feel better than I've felt in my entire life, but you'll move on with your life. You're still young, you're beautiful, you're smart and you're probably the most compassionate, understanding person I've ever met. You'll find somebody else. I have faith in that." He said and with that, he moved back to his papers, letting her know that she was dismissed.

Callista knew that she looked pale, knew that she was shaking and knew that she was probably not able to comprehend what was going on around her but she also knew that Remus was not to blame for this. He had several very valid points and if he ended up in Azkaban because of her, she knew that her emotional state would be a lot worse. Pushing her hair out of her eyes, she watched, numbly as her legs moved of their own accord. She wasn't actually sure where they were leading her to, not until she saw herself standing in front of the Fat Lady's portrait. She felt her lips move, heard a voice which sounded dead—even to her— state the password and it actually took her a minute to realize it was hers. Her trek through the common room and into her dormitory was very much like the one through the rest of the school and until Hermione's voice sounded off, she didn't even realize that she was standing in front of the mirror, staring at herself.

"Callista, what is going on with you?" She moved slowly, like she was walking through water and Hermione seemed to notice because she made a move towards her, but the blonde simply stepped back.

"Nothing, I'm fine." She muttered and Hermione's expression hardened.

"You're not doing this again, Callista, I don't know what or who is making you go back to the way you were a few years ago, but you can't do this again. You're stronger than this. You can't fall apart again, not when you were just getting yourself put back together! And you most definitely cannot do this to me! Do you think it's easy for me to watch you cry, to look at my best friend and think that she looks more like a zombie than a person? Because it's not!" She snapped and Callista shook her head, raking her shaky, pale hands through her hair.

"I'm seriously fine Hermione. Nothing's wrong. It's not like I'm with anyone anyway, so there's nothing to worry about. Just um…go back to what you were doing…I'm tired though, I think I'm going to go to sleep…" She muttered, or rather the dead voice spoke up again.

"Calli, you've been awake for two hours, three tops! You can't be tired, all you've done the past couple of days is sleep and cry, don't think I'm stupid and don't know what's going on, it's insulting. You're thinking about him again aren't you?" She asked and Callista shook her head, clumsily pulling off the sweater dress. She used to love the thing, but now, it simply felt itchy and uncomfortable. The tights she wore also felt uncomfortable and they felt tight too, as though she was a size sixteen attempting to squeeze into a size two. Rolling them off and pulling on an old, ratty T-shirt that fell to her knees, she stared at her bed and then back up to her friend, trying to look convincing.

"Honestly, Hermione, nothing's wrong. I'm just wearing myself out, trying to pass Charms. It's nothing to worry about. I just want to get some sleep." She muttered and with that, she slid into her unmade bed, pulling the crimson comforter over her head and hiding. The waves of pain that had only lapped at her before now reared high up and washed over her head, pulling her further under the covers. She did not resurface…

***

"You're failing Charms, Callista." Harry said, turning to the blonde whilst the golden quartet sat in the common room, as they had done for the past three weeks. After Callista had managed to pull herself out from under the safety of the comforter, she was cold, but no more so than she had been before she met Remus. She'd also been skipping her Defense Against The Dark Arts classes, always feeling intensely sick when she knew that she had to take the class. If she was able to lie to herself at all, she could've simply said that things were just as though Remus Lupin had never entered her life at all. But because she was such an awful liar, she merely hid from the pain, hid from herself and hid from the fact that was eating away at her mind. The fact that she was dying once again without Remus in her life and she probably would be until one of two almost impossible things happened. The first was a fantasy that she was suppressing like crazy, but was still there. The impossible notion that Remus would run to her and beg for her apology, that he would tell her that he was being stupid and that expecting her to fight off what they had going between them was impossible and that he wanted to be with her and that he'd never break her again. The second was that somehow, some way, over time, she'd move on. That she'd find someone new, someone better, someone that she could be with without having to worry about how society felt about them.

She wasn't sure which of those two things she found to be more ridiculous.

"Yeah…" Callista nodded, curling up into a very tight ball on the cushy, red armchair, turning away from Hermione, who was glaring at her. She wasn't sure if the brunette was upset about her grades or if she could still sense the grief that her blonde friend was surpassing.

"Why isn't Lupin tutoring you in it anymore?" Hermione asked quietly, being that she was one of the few people—Ron and Harry were also included in that group— who knew that Lupin had been the one tutoring her. "You seemed to be doing a little better in the class when he was tutoring you…"

"No I wasn't." Callista muttered, shaking her head. "I was for a little, but then we just weren't making progress anymore." She said, grinding her teeth a little bit. No one other than her and Remus would've seen an alternative meaning in those words and the would be secret shared between them caused a wave of pain to wash over her again. "That's why he's not tutoring me anymore…" She trailed off and the other three nodded, not seeming to be any the wiser about her situation.

"I still you say that you should drop the class, Hermione said that it was really stressing you out." Ron spoke up and Callista paled, turning to Hermione and then back to Ron, preparing herself to speak when a thought passed through her head. Why not drop it? Her life felt so…blank, so empty, so meaningless. It wasn't going anywhere, so what reason was there for her to attempt to do well in a class that she hated so much?

But there was her father. Her daddy, who loved her and wanted her to be happy and never asked anything of her, who wanted her to grow and come into her own and flourish like a rose in full bloom. He'd only ever even suggested wanting anything from her and that was for her to succeed in the subject that he'd aced and loved in his days at Hogwarts. There was meaning there, the sense of it wasn't as great as it would've been a while ago, but it was there so she grasped onto it tightly.

"I can't. I just…I just need to try harder…" She said and the other three seemed to smile nervously at her, as though that was a truly pitiful thing to say.

"Callista, you've tried your ass off in that bloody class every single day since first year. What you need is luck and a _lot _of it." Ron said and for the first time in nearly a month, something inside of Callista popped, sparked and came to life. It was so simple, so stupidly obvious, how had she not thought of it before? Her blue eyes went wide and the other members of the quartet all arched their eyebrows at her, but her lips merely widened into a smile and she shook her head.

"I just got a huge burst of inspiration, and now I think it might just kill me if I don't study, you know?" She asked, biting on her lips as she stood and Hermione made a movement to stand up with her, probably to follow after her. "I don't need any help, really, I don't." She insisted and after a moment, the brunette nodded and allowed Callista to go off to their dormitory alone.

Shaking her head at how stupid she'd been, Callista rummaged through the top drawer in her bedside table, digging under the absurd amounts of candy—and she tried desperately to ignore what the chocolate bars made her think of— and several silly trinkets, she found what she was looking for. The bottle was tiny and half empty but it was essential, this was how she would pass. Felix Felicis. She'd concocted a bit for herself last year. It was probably one of the only potions she'd ever struggled to make, but it was completely worth it. This would make her giddy, this would make her happy and most importantly, this would get her to pass the Charms test that she knew was scheduled for tomorrow. Slipping it into her messenger bag, she grinned from ear to ear for the first time in what seemed like forever.

This was it.


	10. Chapter 10: Sirius Black

YAY! Double digits! This is the end of arch 2 and I think I had this chapter written even before chapter one was...but of course I have edited it so that it fits in better now. Um...lets see, like I do when I'm done with each arch, I take a few week break from my stories to recuperate and whatnot and get back into the writing zone. But t be quite frank, I don't think my break from this fic is going to be long at all. I love writing for Callista so much! This chapter is a little different from the book because instead of Halloween being on a Saturday, it's on a Friday and instead of them going to Hogsmeade before the feast, they're gonna go the next day.

And without further ado...

Disclaimer: As much as I'd love to, I don't own anything!

Chapter Ten: Sirius Black

_And I had my heart beaten down, but I'm always come back for more, yeah. There's nothin' like love to pull you up, when you're lying down on the floor, babe. So talk to me, talk to me, like lovers do. Yeah walk with me, walk with me, like lovers do. Like lovers do._

_ -Taking Chances by: Celine Dion_

She'd passed the test. With a big grin plastered on Callista's lips as she all but skipped through the corridors, she tossed her hair back, the sense of victory sweeping over her. She'd passed her test. She knew it was mostly because of the Liquid Luck she'd drank just before and she knew she'd get in trouble if anyone knew she'd drank it, but she was giddy. Letting out a giggle, she sighed, looking out at the moon, knowing that even the bloody orb in the sky couldn't bring her down from the high she was on. It'd been years since she'd done it, but now she was able to look outside and enjoy the beauty of the almost full moon, glowing in the sky. And then the thought hit her…the moon. Her icy blue eyes went a little bit wide and she did a full one hundred-eighty degree turn on her heel, remembering her first day of Defense Against the Dark Arts again. It was almost the full moon; Remus must've been having a hard time… Surprisingly enough, the pain that usually came with his name wasn't showing up and she took that as a sign. She frowned at the though of him, one of the most wonderful people she knew, one of the two people who knew her secret, being unhappy. Her hand instantly dipped into the pocket of her robe, to grab the bar of chocolate that he'd given her on the train ride at the beginning of the year. She gave it a light squeeze and a smile spread onto her lips.

She was going to go see him; she was going to give him the chocolate bar. If anyone needed some chocolate at this time of month, it'd be him. Her mind drifted back to the food that'd surely be waiting for her down at the Halloween feast, but for some reason, it held no appeal to her. Her body was practically pulling her to Professor Lupin's classroom, and with the Liquid Luck in her system, who was she to refuse what fate wanted her to do. Making her way back down the hall, she'd found herself in Remus's office within only a few minutes, watching as the tall brunette stood, pacing right near his desk. She knew that he was dreading the full moon, which would likely be tomorrow night. Instead of leaving him at peace with his thoughts at the sight of him pacing, she simply took a few steps in, making them loud enough so that he'd notice she was there. Instantly he whipped around, eyes locking onto hers as she walked into the back of the room, where he was at.

"Callista…shouldn't you be down at the feast?" He asked, voice sounding strained.

"I suppose so." She shrugged. "But on my way from Charms and I noticed the moon outside and figured you might need this." She replied, pulling the chocolate out of her pocket. "I mean neither of us are a fan of the full moon, and I figured you needed this more than anyone." She smiled, in a way that she hoped looked soothing. He smiled as well but it was far more strained and he nodded.

"Set it on my desk." He nodded towards it. "And then you'd better get on your way to the feast."

"But what about you?" She asked, brow quirked. "Aren't you hungry or do you not have an appetite before the transformation?" She asked when she noticed that his arms were rigid, tense even. She reasoned that he was probably just nervous about her taking their relationship too far again, but she was also able to reason that her good buddy Felix would stop her from doing anything that she shouldn't.

"No, just not hungry at the moment, but please…Callista, you should go…" He winced and yet she stood there with her brow quirked.

"Remus…" She started, taking a step closer to him and he turned away, something that he wouldn't have done on any other occasion. On any other occasion, she would've felt bad, felt like she'd done something wrong, but the Liquid Luck in her system wouldn't allow her to feel that way. She circled around his desk, placing a hand comfortingly on his forearm when she felt him tense even more.

"Callista…you _really_ should leave…" He said through his teeth and she noticed that his eyes were pinched shut. "Please…" His tone was pleading, but still, it felt as though she wasn't supposed to leave, like her body wouldn't leave the room, even if she wanted it to. No…but her body did want to do something else, something that she'd been repressing for quite some time now, something that she wasn't supposed to do ever again. She wouldn't have been able to do it any other time, but now…she couldn't _not _do it. Her hand curved around his forearm and his gaze darted over to her, eyes moving up and down her figure, something that Draco had done a thousand times, but with Remus, it didn't bother her…She racked her brain for his first name, feeling a little bit like she was in a daze.

"Remus…" She breathed and his eyes went wide, right as she leaned on her toes and kissed him on the lips, cupping his face in her hands. She pulled away, after a few seconds and looked up at him, expecting him to be both shocked and upset, but instead, all she saw in his eyes was the unmistakable glint of lust.

"I told you, you should leave Cal…" He breathed before grabbing his face in her hands, kissing her roughly on the lips. She gasped at his reaction, allowing him to push his tongue into her mouth and she groaned, feeling her body cave. Noticing the sudden weakness, Remus wrapped an arm tightly around her waist and took the other hand to push the contents of his desk onto the floor before scooping her into his arms and laying her on it.

Before she had the chance to move, he quickly straddled her hips, moving down to kiss her roughly on the mouth and she trapped his head with her arms. This was supposed to be wrong and somewhere in the back of both of their minds they knew it. But that didn't stop either of them.

As he lay on top of her, lips meshing with hers, Remus's hands raked their way down her body, feeling every ounce of curvature, every flaw, every perfection, every ounce of her clothing. Clothing… It didn't take long for him to tear her shirt off, not even bothering with the buttons. No not now, not just before the full moon. He couldn't treat her to anything slow or romantic. But somewhere in the logical part of his mind, he knew he'd better make it good, he knew that this time of month would be the only excuse he had for jumping on her like this, so he'd better memorize everything he could.

With the sudden exposure of flesh, Callista gasped, throwing her blonde head back and away from the kiss, allowing him a better exposure of her neck, which he lay several wet, warm kisses down until he touched her shoulder bone, drawing his lips back up to the crook of her neck, sucking on the soft flesh, which caused a whimper to erupt from her lips and for her to cling even tighter to his form, wrapping her legs around his torso. However the chokehold on his head was getting rather impossible. He snatched up her wrists and pinned them above her head, continuing his actions. When he was through, having left a thorough mark on her neck his eyes moved down to her chest and he lifted her up for a minute, quickly unclipping her bra and tossing it aside before her back hit the desk once again.

"Remus…" She breathed, staring up at him, knowing that her eyes were mirroring the lust that she'd seen in his. "I…I need you…" She winced, hands clenching into tight, controlled fists above her head and he shook his head. It seemed strange that she needed him so badly with so little foreplay, but then he reminded himself that she'd been attempting to control her desires for as long as he had.

"A few more minutes…" He whispered, knowing that he'd only get this once, only get to have this beautiful, brilliant girl once. His lips moved to her small breasts and he took one of them into his mouth fully, feeling her body tense beneath him and he grabbed on even tighter to her waist. His tongue traced over her nipple, feeling as it hardened and she moaned, right as his teeth came into contact with it, biting down lightly.

He wanted to take more time with her, truly he did. But people would notice they'd been missing from the feast. Someone could come looking for them and his lust was getting to be too much for him. He removed his attention from her chest and allowed her to remove his shirt, her hands shaking a little as she undid each button.

"Are you alright?" He asked, the bona fide Remus kicking in for just a moment and she nodded, pulling off his shirt.

"Just not what I expected to get from tonight...." She breathed, taking in his appearance. It was even better than she'd imagined, what with the toned, muscular chest, the slim, lithe torso and the broad, strong shoulders. It took her a moment, but she'd finally managed to tear her eyes away from his body. "But you can't stop…" She insisted, eyes filling with worry and he chuckled a small amount, bringing his lips—which were curved into a wolfish grin—to her ear.

"Believe me Callista, I couldn't even if I tried to." And then he was nibbling on her earlobe, an innocent enough action, if his hands weren't behaving the way they were, sliding the zipper of her skirt down and pulling it off of her, along with her underwear, then her flats, leaving her in nothing but stockings, exposed underneath him. He let a finger dive into her and she gasped, letting out a moan as well.

"Yes!" She choked, long fingers clenching into a very tight fist. And another finger. "Merlin, I—" and then another. At first, he moved them in lazy circles, teasing her for the first time that evening. Her body became weaker, muscles almost turning into putty in his hands. He was driving her crazy on purpose, still having her wrists pinned up above her head with his free hand. She was turning to mush, he should've known that this teasing couldn't continue forever, she thought. Not when everything else about this encounter had been very quick. And it was as if he read her mind, because then he started to move faster. In wider circles but they were much faster and caused her body to go tense once more, back arching with each circle he made. "Remus!" She pled, eyes locking onto his.

"Now?" He asked, hands swiftly removing his belt and she nodded.

"Now!" She commanded and in that instant he was inside of her. "Remus!" She choked out, arching her back and he held her torso close to his, keeping his arms tight around her waist so that she was unable to move her upper half. Her hips were pressed against his and somehow, through her lusty daze, she'd been able to think clearly enough to grind her hips against his, with him still inside of her. He groaned and moved his lips back down to hers, which stifled the moan that erupted when he thrust into her once more. Once again, she pressed her hips forward, against his, allowing each thrust to rock the both of them a little bit. With the new rhythm of the rocking sensation allowing more tension to flow through her veins, she wrapped her stocking covered legs around his waist, and her recently freed hands hand moved to grip his shoulders.

For a bit, everything was bliss. Sheer, undeniable bliss and a tangle of legs and moans. However, it didn't last long enough. She was far too tight for her own liking and with such, quick, sloppy, lustful movements, she wasn't bound to last long. Her muscles quaked, her vision glazed over and she knew that his name spilled out of her mouth, probably loud enough for someone in the Great Hall to hear. Thank Merlin, she felt him come inside of her shortly after and then withdraw himself.

Neither got a chance to cling lovingly to each other, not with the volume of the scream that Callista's orgasm had produced. Surely someone would've heard it and have been coming to look and see what all of the noise was about. With all of the lust clouding their minds, neither had remembered to cast a silencing charm. Instead, they peeled apart, feeling each others sweat on their own skin, and quickly dressed, stuck in a silent stupor. Only when the clothes were back on and Callista had attempted to salvage her hair did either speak.

"I'm sorry about that Callista…" He muttered and she quirked a brow at him.

"Sorry?" She repeated, eyes on him, however his back was turned to her.

"That was utterly inappropriate of me, you're a student, I'm a teacher and you're a good eighteen years younger than I am, I shouldn't have done that." He whispered, still not turning to face her.

"Remus, I—" But she didn't get to finish, in that instant, Professor Snape waltzed into the room, dark eyes glancing at the quills, parchment and ink that were on the floor of around Remus's desk.

"Miss Finch, what is it you're doing in here and not down at the feast?" He asked in his slow drawl and her eyes widened, no answer coming into her mind.

"That was my fault Severus. Callista came to me, asking me for some help in my class." Remus lied quickly and Callista instantly nodded, sloppy blonde curls falling into her face. She knew that Snape didn't buy the lie. She didn't either, but there was nothing he could do about it. He couldn't prove anything.

"Well, Callista, I do believe we're finished here." Remus commented and the blonde's lips fixed into a hard line. No they weren't. What was his problem? One minute he was telling her to leave, then the next he was straddling her on his desk and now he was practically saying that it was just some sort of mistake. Frustration swept over her until she remembered…the moon. Obviously he was struggling with a lot of things right now, it was best to just leave him be.

"Yes, thank you, _Professor_…" She replied, allowing that single word to glide off of her tongue with more seduction than the others.

And with that she was off, back to the Gryffindor tower, since she knew the feast was over. It was a shame, really. She was starving. On her way up, she'd gotten lucky enough to meet up with Ron, Hermione and Harry, who had all bought the lie that she was too nervous about what her grade on the Charms test had been to eat. As the four maneuvered up the staircase, they found themselves stuck in the middle of the staircase in question, being as it was jammed with students.

"Why isn't anyone going in?" Ron asked, curiously. The four peered over the heads in front of them, noticing that the portrait appeared to be closed.

"Let me through, please!" Percy's arrogant tone came from behind them and he shoved through the crowd, as though he was more important than the rest of them. "What's the holdup here? You can't all have forgotten the password—excuse me, I'm Head Boy!" He said snootily, shoving passed several more students. And then he was quiet, something that was abnormal enough to cause a child to go through Callista's spine. "Somebody get Professor Dumbledore, quick!" The quartet looked around and Callista stood on her toes, hoping that being tall would mean something now, but considering most boys in Gryffindor had hit puberty, they were taller than her and her sight was blocked off.

"What's going on?" Ginny sounded off from behind the quartet and right as she spoke, Dumbledore was there, pacing urgently towards the portrait and unlike with Percy, the Gryffindors let him through easily. Turning to the others, Harry nodded at Callista, Ron and Hermione and the four followed quickly behind Dumbledore, hoping to get a better look at what was going on. Strange, but Callista thought that perhaps her Liquid Luck would help her through any sorts of problems. Forcing her out of her reverie, Hermione grasped Callista's arm and the blonde turned to stare at her wide eyed friend.

"Oh, my—" And then Callista saw it. The fat Lady was not in her portrait, in fact the portrait had been slashed so violently that strips of the canvas soiled the floor. Dumbledore was only taking a quick glance at it and in that instant, he turned his somber expression to see Professor McGonagall, Snape and Remus all hurrying towards him. Callista went to grip Remus's arm and ask him what was going on, but figuring that that sort of thing might be a little much in this situation and that he probably knew as little about what was going on as she did, she decided against it.

"We need to find her." Dumbledore finally spoke, turning to the Professors. "Professor McGonagall, please go to at once and tell him to search every painting in the castle for the Fat lady."

"You'll be lucky!" All heads turned as Peeves the Polergeist came bobbing over the crowd, looking delighted, which was never a good sign.

"What do you mean, Peeves?" Dumbledore asked so calmly that Peeves's grin faded a little.

"Ashamed, Your Heaship, sir. Doesn't want to be seen. She's a horrible mess. Saw her running through the landscape up on the fourth floor, sir, dodging between the trees. Crying something dreadful." His grin was back. "Poor thing."

"Did you see who did it?" Dumbledore asked quietly and Peeves nodded.

"Oh yes, Professorhead. He god very angry when she wouldn't let him in, you see…Nasty temper he's got, that Sirius Black."


End file.
